Nigeria’s expenditure on fish imports fell significantly in the second quarter of 2026, with the nation spending ₦167.91 billion on various fish varieties. This represents a 14.8% decline compared to the ₦197.17 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report, the imports covered six major fish species. These include: Blue whitings (Panla), Herrings (Shawa) Mackerel, (Titus/Alaran) Jack and horse mackerel, (Kote) Yellowfin tuna and other frozen fish species.
The decline highlights shifting dynamics in Nigeria’s fish import market, reflecting both economic pressures and potential opportunities for local aquaculture and fisheries to bridge the supply gap.
Blue whitings remained the single largest fish import in both quarters. Nigeria imported N116.13 billion worth in Q2’25, easing to N96.93 billion in Q2’26.
In Q2’25, Jack and horse mackerel were mainly sourced from Chile, South Korea, Peru, Germany and the Netherlands while in Q2’26, the record shows they were sourced solely from Mauritania.
Mackerel imports also fell from N6.32 billion in Q2 2025 to N2.20 billion in Q2 2026.
However, Herrings specie imports defied the trend and surged from N9.84 billion to N62.74 billion over the same period.
The fish were imported mainly from the Netherlands, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Chile, South Korea, Peru, Russia, China and Mauritania, NBS data shows.
Blue Whitings and Jack/Horse Mackerel were among the top five food related products Nigeria imported in Q2’25, ranking second (N116.13 billion) and third (N64.58 billion) respectively, behind Durum Wheat.
In Q2’26, Blue Whitings again ranked second among top food related imports at N96.93 billion, while Herrings placed third at N62.74 billion.
Frozen Crustaceans, mainly from China, also featured among the top five food related imports in Q2’26.
Speaking recently at an event on agro export in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer of Greenview Fertilizer Corporation, Mr.Vishwajit Sinha, said Nigeria with about 850km coastline shouldn’t be importing fishes.
According to him, the fish import bill was far too high for a country with its natural endowments.
He stated: “Nigeria imports almost $1.5 billion of fishery products annually. You have 850km of coastline and so much freshwater pond, why do we have to import $1.5 to $2 billion worth of fish products? We should rather be exporters.”
He compared Nigeria’s position with India’s, noting that India’s coastline, at about 1,600km, is roughly double Nigeria’s, but its fishery exports stand at around $10 billion.
He added, ‘‘There is nothing, no rocket science, about it. It requires a bit of policy tweaking and focus, and we will easily become self-sufficient and do away with so much of the import we are doing today.”
