Daily Watch – Oil output rises to 1.352 mbpd, US endorses African seats at UN

Nigeria’s crude oil production increased from 1.307 million barrels per day (mbpd) in July to 1.352 mbpd in August, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its September Monthly Oil Market Report. OPEC said the average daily crude production rose marginally to add 45,000 barrels, based on information obtained through direct communication with the Nigerian government. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, “Nigeria’s exports trade continued to be dominated by crude oil exports, in the second quarter of 2024, crude oil export was valued at ₦14,559.56 billion representing 74.98% of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at ₦4,859.37 billion accounting for 25.02% of total exports; of which non-oil products contributed ₦1,944.25 billion or 10.01% of total exports.”

Nigeria recorded a trade surplus of ₦6.95 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, a 6.60% increase from the previous quarter. Nigeria’s total merchandise trade in Q2 2024 stood at ₦31.89 trillion, representing a 3.76% decline compared to the preceding quarter but marking a 150.39% rise from the corresponding period in 2023. “The value of total imports stood at ₦12,473.53 billion in the second quarter of 2024, representing a decrease of 10.71% compared with the value recorded in Q1 2024 (₦13.970.05 billion) and a rise of 97.93% from the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023 (₦6,301.95 billion).” “Total exports in Q2 2024 were valued at ₦19,418.93 billion, reflecting a 1.31% increase compared to ₦19,167.36 billion in Q1 2024 and a 201.76% rise compared to ₦6,435.13 billion in Q2 2023.”

Ghana has raised the fixed farmgate price paid to cocoa farmers by nearly 45% to help boost their incomes and deter bean smuggling, Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong said on Wednesday. The price increase is unprecedented and will take effect from Wednesday, Acheampong told reporters at the launch of the world’s second-biggest producer’s 2024/25 cocoa season. A similar price increase could be implemented in Ivory Coast next month since the two countries coordinate farmgate prices and cocoa supplies to help sustain the sector and boost their farmers’ incomes. “We don’t expect any huge gap in prices. The market is volatile, we continue to monitor it and in the event that there’s an increase in price, I think both countries will have a discussion,” Acheampong said. Acheampong now expects cocoa production to surpass the previous 650,000 metric ton target, which is too conservative.

The United States supports creating two permanent United Nations Security Council seats for African states and one seat to be rotated among small island developing states, according to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Reuters reported. The move comes as the US seeks to repair ties with Africa, where many are unhappy about Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza, and deepen relations with Pacific Islands countries important to countering Chinese influence in the region. Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters she hopes the announcement will “move this agenda forward in a way that we can achieve Security Council reform at some point in the future,” describing it as part of US President Joe Biden’s legacy. Before the announcement at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters that Washington opposes expanding veto power beyond the five countries that hold it.