[SPECIAL REPORT]
• After a steady increase of India’s exports to Nigeria
for the past few years, the period April 2016 to March 2017
witnessed a 20 percent decline in India’s exports to Nigeria
to $ 1.77 billion from $2.22 billion during the corresponding
period in 2015-16
• India’s imports from Nigeria form a large part of crude
and petroleum products. In recent years, Nigeria has become
one of the main sources of crude oil as India imports around
12 percent of its requirements from the African nation. India’s
imports have declined signifi cantly by 23 percent to $7.65
billion in 2016-17 as against $9.94 billion registered in 2015-
16. Out of total imports of $7.65 billion, petroleum products
alone accounted for $7.46 billion in 2016-17.
India-Nigeria Bilateral Trade
India’s
Export
India’s
Import
2016 – 2017
1771.33
(-20%)
7659.48
(-23%)
18 • Nigeria-India• 2018
Value in US $ million
2015 - 2016
2222.0
(-17%)
9949.16
(-27%)
2014 – 2015
2681.36
(+0.9%)
13682.72
(-2%)
Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa. India has
overtaken the U.S. as the top buyer of Nigerian crude oil.
Trade and investment is the fulcrum of economic relations
between Nigeria and India (Wapmuk, 2012). Besides, they
are reliable partners and emerging global powers. Indian
investments in many areas have created employment
opportunities and added value to the Nigerian economy
(Wapmuk, 2012). Although Nigeria-India trade has come a
long way, relook and dealing with certain challenges is vital
to advance and fortify bilateral relations.
Opportunities and Way Forward
Nigeria has witnessed impressive growth in the past few
years. In fact, it continues to be one of the fastest growing
economies for the foreseeable future. There exists immense
potential along various sectors of the economy. But the most
prominent one could be the agriculture sector, including
processing of agricultural produce, supply and distribution,
storage facilities, agricultural mechanisation, research and
development, and development of small-scale technologies
for on-farm as well as secondary processing. Agricultural
products with great potential include groundnuts, palm oil,
cocoa, citrus fruits, maize, millet, cassava etc.
Further, continued levels of food defi cits around the globe,
reliance on food imports has reintroduced agriculture as an
engine of growth on the policy agenda. A confl uence of factors
in recent years has renewed interest in agriculture and spur the
early stages of Green Revolution 2.0. It is already happening
in low income as well as emerging economies. Many in sub-
Saharan Africa, have low productive agricultural systems and
hence, hunger, poverty continue to be daunting problems.
They face the age-old constraint to enhance productivity,
due to lack of technology, poor market infrastructure,
inappropriate institutions, and dearth empowering policy
environment.
On the other hand, countries like India, where gains
from the fi rst Green Revolution were concentrated, are well
on their way to agricultural modernisation and structural
transformation (Timmer, 2007). This is where there exists
a tremendous opportunity for both India and Nigeria to join
hands which will facilitate to face agricultural challenges, be
it of integrating smallholders into value chains, maintaining
competitiveness, and closing the urban-rural income gap.
Further, harnessing the private sector interest to invest in
the agricultural sector is crucial to creating an agricultural
renaissance (Pingali, 2010). The growing supermarket culture
across urban areas globally boosts national and multinational
agribusiness investments and allows traditional staple crop
systems to diversify into high-value horticulture and livestock
production as seen in India.
At the global level, by 2050, the global population is