Nigeria’s intra‑African trade rises 21% to $9.02 billion as AfCFTA opens new export markets

Nume Ekeghe

In 2025, Nigeria’s trade with other African nations rose to $9.02 billion, highlighting the expanding role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in broadening market access for Nigerian exporters and strengthening regional economic ties.

The most recent African Trade Report 2026, issued by Afreximbank, shows that Nigeria’s intra‑African trade grew from $7.47 billion in 2024 to $9.02 billion in 2025—a 21 percent increase that places Nigeria among the continent’s top intra‑African trading countries.

Report analysts attribute the jump to Nigeria’s heightened focus on regional commerce and its efforts to exploit AfCFTA‑driven opportunities that lower trade barriers and open new export destinations across Africa.

Crude oil remains the dominant export to African markets, but the country’s export mix is diversifying. Shipments of chemicals, plastics, rubber products, processed agricultural goods, food items, urea and cement have all grown.

These gains come as Nigeria works to reduce reliance on traditional non‑African markets and position local manufacturers to benefit from the continent’s rapidly expanding consumer base.

“Elsewhere in West Africa, the value of Nigeria’s trade with the continent grew from $7.47 billion to $9.02 billion. Crude oil was a dominant feature in Nigeria’s exports to Africa. Other key exports included non‑oil manufactured goods such as chemicals, plastics, and rubber products, processed agricultural goods and foodstuffs, urea, and cement,” the report states.

“Nigeria intensified its focus on trade with other African countries, leveraging the AfCFTA to expand market access and lower trade costs for domestic exporters. Key milestones achieved during the year included the gazetting of Nigeria’s Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in April, which enabled Nigerian goods to qualify for preferential tariffs across AfCFTA member states while granting reciprocal access for African imports. Additionally, new logistics initiatives such as a dedicated air cargo corridor to East and Southern Africa are reducing transportation costs for Nigerian intra‑African trade,” the report adds.

Afreximbank noted that one of the major milestones recorded during the year was the gazetting of Nigeria’s Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions in April 2025.