In West Africa the first stage in the import trade, that is, direct importing, is largely in non-African hands. From information extracted by the Department of Statistics in Nigeria from customs records it appears that in 1949 about 85 % of the import trade of that country was handled by European firms, about 10 % by Levantine and Indian firms, and about 5 % by African firms. Since then the African share has probably increased slightly, partly as a result of preferential treatment in the allocation of import licences in the commodities affected by specific licensing.