According to the data released in the first quarter foreign trade report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s food and beverage import bill rose to N1.5 trillion in Q1 2024, reflecting a 30 per cent increase from N1.21 trillion in Q4 2023.

It shows a significant 115 percent increase from N710 billion in Q1 2023.

The report indicates that food and beverage imports constituted 12.59 per cent of total imports between January and March 2024, up from 11.4 per cent in the same period in 2023.

Breaking this down reveals that primary food and beverage imports for industries and household consumption reached N726 billion for the quarter, a N160 billion increase from 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 a year-on-year increase of N64 billion from N122 billion in Q1 2023.

The primary food import bill of the industrial sectors was N540 billion in Q1 2024, marking a 114 per cent increase from N252 billion in Q1 2023 and a 32 per cent rise from N409 billion in Q4 2023.

Processed food and beverage imports also surged to about N865 billion in the first three months of 2024, a 137 per cent increase from N365 billion in Q1 2023. Compared to the previous quarter, processed food and beverage imports grew from N650.55 billion to the current figure.

In spite of this increase in imports, a weakening naira has reduced the dollar value of these imports over the past year, indicates that food importation might not effectively solve Nigeria’s food inflation problems.