Hardship: Cost of healthy food surges by 32% in Nigeria – NBS report

The average of cost purchasing healthy food daily increased by 32 per cent to N1,041 in May 2024 from N786 in December 2023.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this in its latest Cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD report for May 2024, released on Friday in Abuja.

Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the report said that the cost of a healthy diet increased marginally by one per cent in May 2024, compared to the N1,035 recorded in April.

“This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”

On a state-by-state analysis, the report noted that Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra recorded the highest CoHD at N1,225, N1,215, and N1,205, respectively.

The NBS said Kano recorded the lowest CoHD at N898, followed by Jigawa at N899, and Yobe and Katsina at N906.

On a zonal analysis, the highest cost of a healthy diet is in the South-West at N1,189 per adult per day, followed by the South-East at N1,190 per day.

Conversely, the lowest average CoHD was recorded in the North-West at N919 per adult per day.

The NBS said CoHD had steadily increased since the first CoHD report by the Bureau in October 2023.

“The food groups that have driven the increases in CoHD the most are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods.

“On the other hand, vegetables and fruits recorded the lowest increase in price on a month-on-month basis,” the report stated.

The development comes as food inflation increased for the 17th time to 40.66 per cent in May 2024.