Nigeria’s agricultural sector has continued its impressive performance, leading the expansion in economic activities for the ninth consecutive month in April 2025, according to the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The PMI for April 2025 stood at 52.2 index points, marking the fifth consecutive month of economic growth.
The agricultural sector recorded the highest expansion, with 53.8 index points, driven primarily by increased new orders.
The industry sector also experienced growth for the fourth consecutive month, largely due to increased outputs.
The services sector saw an uptick, attributed to rising levels of incoming business.
Sectoral Performance:
Across the 36 subsectors in Industry, Services, and Agriculture, 22 subsectors reported growth, with Transportation Equipment leading the charge.
Conversely, 14 subsectors witnessed declines, with Paper Products facing the highest drop.
The Composite Output, New Orders, and Employment indices were 53.2, 53.2, and 50.7 points respectively, indicating expansion in the review month.
Despite the expansion, the CBN warned that businesses are experiencing margin pressures as input costs are rising faster than output prices, potentially squeezing profitability margins.
The sustained growth in the agricultural sector is viewed as a promising indicator for Nigeria’s economic outlook in the second quarter of 2025, with expectations of continued resilience in key sectors.
