Nigeria’s fish import bill fell by 14.8 per cent to N167.91 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figure represents a decline from the N197.17 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, even as Nigeria continued to rely heavily on imported fish to meet domestic demand.
Data from the NBS Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics showed that the imports covered six categories, including blue whitings, commonly known as panla; herrings, or shawa; mackerel, also known as titus or alaran; jack and horse mackerel, known as kote; yellowfin tuna; and other unclassified frozen fish.
Blue whitings remained Nigeria’s largest fish import, although its value declined from N116.13 billion in Q2 2025 to N96.93 billion in Q2 2026.
Imports of jack and horse mackerel also fell, while mackerel declined from N6.32 billion to N2.20 billion during the period.
Herrings, however, moved sharply in the opposite direction, with imports rising from N9.84 billion in Q2 2025 to N62.74 billion in Q2 2026. The fish came from countries including the Netherlands, Faroe Islands, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Chile, South Korea, Peru, Russia, China and Mauritania.
NBS data also showed a notable shift in the sources of jack and horse mackerel. The species, valued at N64.58 billion in Q2 2025, was sourced mainly from Chile, South Korea, Peru, Germany and the Netherlands. In Q2 2026, however, imports were sourced solely from Mauritania.
Blue whitings and jack and horse mackerel ranked among Nigeria’s top five food-related imports in Q2 2025, while blue whitings and herrings occupied the second and third positions respectively in Q2 2026.
Frozen crustaceans, mainly imported from China, also featured among the leading food-related imports during the quarter.
Despite the decline in the import bill, concerns remain over Nigeria’s dependence on foreign fish supplies.
Speaking at an agro-export event in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer of Greenview Fertilizer Corporation, Vishwajit Sinha, said Nigeria’s extensive coastline and freshwater resources should enable the country to produce enough fish for domestic consumption and export.
“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 said.
Sinha compared Nigeria’s fishery industry with India’s, noting that India has a coastline of about 1,600km and fishery exports valued at around $10 billion.
He said Nigeria could reduce its dependence on imported fish through targeted policy adjustments and greater investment and focus on developing the domestic fishery industry.
“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,” he added.
While the latest NBS figures show a decline in Nigeria’s fish import bill, the data also highlights the scale of the opportunity for domestic production as the country seeks to reduce import dependence and build a stronger fishery sector.