International trade is the exchange of goods and services among countries for money. This involves the importation and exportation of goods and services. Many countries in the world are faced with problems engaging in international trade successfully. However international trade is one of the major determinants of a countries economic growth. Ideally every country should export more goods and services than it import goods and service. This differs on the natural resources, technology and labour force.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with a population of over 150 million people. It is one of the largest oil producers in the continent creating huge inflows of foreign income. Without question it holds enormous commercial potential as recent administrations have focused on developing the non-oil economy and tackling corruption. The explosion of the industry such as the mobile telecoms market and the unparalleled success of foreign companies such as South Africa’s MTN have also demonstrated that the potential can be turned into reality. Despite persistent problems corruption and bureaucracy the international business community increasingly sees Nigeria as the central driver of a vast African market that remains the last under-developed commercial market in the world. Currently Nigeria is faced with so many problems affecting the international trade which is the buying and selling of goods and services with other countries.
1.1 BACKGROUND
In the early days Nigeria’s major exports were cocoa and palm oil, but since the discovery of crude oil Nigeria, things has taken a different turn. In deed the pursuit of Nigeria’s crude oil has taken the character of a gold rush, with major companies from all over the world competing fiercely with one another for access to promising reserves.
This ‘oil rush’ has enormous implications both for African oil producers and for the major oil – importing countries for the producing countries it promises both new
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