**Nigeria's Petrol Import Bill Drops by 42% to N8.9trn in 2025** Nigeria's total expenditure on importing Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) significantly declined by **41.9%** to N8.96 trillion in the 2025 fiscal year, down from N15.42 trillion in 2024, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The report, which analyzed the quarterly Foreign Trade report for 2025, showed that Nigeria spent N1.76 trillion on petrol imports in the first quarter, N2.38 trillion in the second quarter, N1.29 trillion in the third quarter, and N3.54 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025. The country's major trading partners for petrol imports during this period included the Netherlands, the United States, Belgium, Brazil, and Togo. Despite having local refineries, such as the Dangote refinery, which has a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, Nigeria still relied heavily on imported petrol. According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority report, the total petrol consumed in 2025 was 18.97 billion litres, with 11.85 billion litres (62.47%) being imported and 7.54 billion litres (37.53%) locally sourced. The analysis of the overall foreign trade data in the fourth quarter revealed that Nigeria recorded a positive trade balance of N1.71 trillion during the period. The total merchandise trade stood at N36.21 trillion, representing a **1.07%** decline from N36.60 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024, and a decrease of **8.94%** compared to N39.77 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter. In the quarter under review, exports accounted for **52.36%** of total trade, with a value of N18.96 trillion. This represents a **16.88%** decrease from N22.8 trillion recorded in Q3, 2025, and a **5.25%** decrease over N20 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Crude oil remained Nigeria's major exported commodity in the period, with a value of N9.702 trillion, accounting for **51.17%** of total exports. A further breakdown revealed that the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N9.26 trillion, accounting for **48.83%** of total exports, with non-oil products contributing N3.14 trillion or **16.59%** of total exports. Exports by section showed that Nigeria mainly exported 'mineral products' valued at N16.02 trillion, or **84.50%** of the total export value.