Nigeria’s merchandise trade with the rest of the world grew by 23.23 percent between Q1 2021 and Q2 2021¹. Similarly, year-on -year merchandise trade increased by 88.71 percent between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021, largely as a result of increases in oil exports. Furthermore, disaggregated data shows that the value of imports rose by 67.47 percent between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021 while exports increased by 128.29 percent within the same period. However, the export value of manufactured goods declined by 16.7 percent between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. The growth recorded in exports signifies an improvement in the economy which should also ease the pressure on the exchange rate. However, the decline in the export value of manufactured goods implies that the efforts on economic diversification has not yielded results. Consequently, there is an urgent need to implement policies which can boost manufacturing sector output in order to avoid economic uncertainties emanating from crude oil price volatility. More specifically, policies that reduce interest rates, encourage knowledge and technology spillovers, and the adoption of mechanized processes are likely to be beneficial for manufacturing sector productivity.