Nigerians spent N22.78trn on imported food items in 2019, says NBS

Nigerians’ spending on food rose to N22.78 trillion in 2019, up from the N12.77 trillion recorded in 2010 when the survey was last conducted.

A report released on Sunday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that total expenditures of households in Nigeria on food and non-food items for 2019 was N40.21 trillion, up from N21.62 trillion recorded in 2018.

The report showed that out of the total expenditures, food accounted for 56.65% of total household expenditure in the year under review while 43.35% accounted for expenditures on non-food items.

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Food consumed outside the home constituted the largest expenditures followed by transportation costs.

Analysis of the report showed that food consumed outside homes, transport fares, starchy roots, tubers and plantains were responsible for the largest proportion of household expenditures, representing a combined 24.16 percent of total household expenditure in 2019.

The state-by-state analysis showed that Lagos accounted for the largest share of the consumption expenditure at N5.07 trillion.

Some other states’ consumption expenditures on imported food items are Oyo (5.83%), Delta (5.38%), Rivers (4.99%) and Kano State (4.91%) trailed behind Lagos on the consumption index.