Nigeria shipped £3.3 billion in commodities to the United Kingdom in a single year, according to a British diplomat.

Baxter said that both countries were exploring methods to address some of the restrictions and hindrances to bilateral trade.

According to the British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, Nigeria’s exports to the UK from June 2022 to June 2023 were valued 3.3 billion pounds.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday, Baxter mentioned the statistic while discussing the volume of commerce between the two countries.

He stated that the figure was 1.4 billion pounds more than the previous year’s total.

“The overall trade figure, which includes imports and exports, is 7.6 billion pounds, of which 4.3 billion are made up of UK products imported into Nigeria, and that figure has increased by 1 billion pounds when compared to the previous year.”

“The remaining 3.3 billion are Nigerian exports into the UK, which have increased by 1.4 billion, indicating that the increase in Nigerian exports into the UK has been much faster, which is fantastic news.”

“It shows that Nigeria is producing goods and services that people in the UK want to buy, and they are being bought and purchased from Nigeria,” he explained.

He stated that the adoption of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) had boosted bilateral commercial cooperation.

“The United Kingdom is committed to creating the best possible conditions for trade to continue to strengthen, and in June of this year, we launched a new programme called DCTS.”

“It is a global scheme that benefits all developing countries in the region of 65 countries, and Nigeria in particular.”

“What it does is allow more and more goods into the UK with reduced or no tariffs, and for Nigeria, 99 percent of what Nigerians export to the UK in goods and services is tariff-free.”

“This means that it is cheaper for people in the UK to buy Nigerian goods, which will make them more popular, and it is a great thing for Nigeria to benefit from,” he explained.

Baxter said that both countries were exploring methods to address some of the restrictions and hindrances to bilateral trade.

He stated that the UK would host an African Investment Summit in April 2024, which would serve as a venue for Nigerian companies to meet British investors.

“In April of next year, the United Kingdom will host an African investment summit, and Nigeria will be a major participant because it will provide an opportunity for Nigerian companies to pitch to British companies for investments, contracts, imports, and exports.”

“As part of that, there will be a special side event on Nigerian creatives, as I believe in the past, people haven’t placed as much emphasis on the creative industry as a component of the economy.”

“Nigeria is such a classic place where creatives are so important, and they have produced a lot of money and wealth, and indeed, I think it is an increasing area for Nigeria’s economy, and it is brilliant that the African Investment Summit would have this side event,” he said.