The US had remained the country's largest export market since 1964, making its move to the second position a major development for Nigerian and Indian trade relations.
According to the Bureau, in the quarter India-Nigeria bilateral trade reached $5.15 billion or within 0.5 per cent of the US which, for the moment, retains the top-spot. The total value of Nigeria's exports in the first quarter of 2012 at about $30 billion, showing that exports to India reached $4.2 billion, compared to $3.7 billion credited to the US in the period under review.
Nigeria's export to India is mostly crude oil and cashew nuts while India exports pharmaceutical goods, machinery, electronics and rice.
The US was trailed by the Netherlands with $2.9 billion, followed by Spain with $2.4 billion and Brazil which recorded $2 billion.
Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mahesh Sachdev said it is indicative of a trend of consistent robust growth.
"If this growth persists, India can be expected to emerge as Nigeria's largest trading partner in the next quarter. Interestingly, Nigeria was India's 14th largest trading partner last year." he said. "This figure is obviously too high to be sustainable. Consequently, both sides need to ensure that more Indian products are imported into Nigeria so that the momentum of growth in bilateral trade can be maintained."
This data, Sachdev said, is consistent with official Indian data which puts the bilateral trade in 2011 at $16.4 billion, with Indian exports to Nigeria at $2.6 billion (up 38 per cent annually) and India's imports from Nigeria at $13.728 billion (up 34 per cent annually).
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