Nigeria’s food and beverage import bill stood at N1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, up 30% from N1.21 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This data was released in the first quarter foreign trade report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which also showed a significant increase of 115% from 710 billion Naira in the first quarter of 2023. The report indicates that imports of food and beverages accounted for 12.59% of total imports from January to March 2024, compared with 11.4% during the same period in 2023.
Detailed analysis shows that the main imports of food and beverages for the industrial sectors Industry and household consumption reached N726 billion in the quarter, an increase of N160 billion over the previous quarter.
For household consumption, primary food and beverage imports were valued at N186.6 billion, while industrial imports stood at N540.1 billion. This represents an annual increase of N64 billion from N122 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Industry’s main food import bill stood at N540 billion in the first quarter of 2024, increased 114% over the same period last year, N252 billion in the first quarter of 2023, and up 32% from N409 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Imports of processed food and beverages also increased sharply, reaching N865 billion in the first three months of 2024, an increase of 137 percent hundred from N365 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Compared to the previous quarter, imports of processed beverages Processed foods and beverages increased from N650.
55 billion to the current figure.
Despite this increase in imports, the weakening of the naira has reduced the dollar value of these imports over the past year, suggesting that food imports may not effectively solve the problem.
