By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerians expended about N22.8 trillion on Food in the year 2019, a survey recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics have revealed.
In the report titled Consumption Expenditure Pattern in Nigeria 2019, it was revealed that total spending made by Nigerians for the period amounted to of N40.2 trillion, out of which N22.8 trillion or 57 percent went to satisfying biggest need of man.
The last time a similar report was published was in 2009 and as at that time, Nigerians spent N21.6 trillion on consumption expenditure and more than 10 years later, covering a period from October 2018 to September 2019, there has been an 86 percent increase in consumption expenditure.
About 56.7 percent of Nigeria’s consumption expenditure was on food items. This was followed by transportation with N2.6 trillion (6.4 percent), health came in third with N2.5 trillion (6.1 percent) and education at N2.4 trillion (6.0 percent).
Others include: services including telecoms (5.5 percent); rent (5.3 percent), fuel/electricity (5.0 percent); clothing and footwear (4.5 percent); and household goods (2.8 percent). The rest covered entertainment and water.
A breakdown of the latest figure showed that out of the N22.8 trillion expended on food, N4 trillion was spent “eating out” – outside the home – at restaurants, bars, roadside joints, among others.
This was followed by consumption in the home on starchy food such as yam, potatoes and the likes which gulped N2.5 trillion; rice – one of the most common delicacy in the Nigerian household – followed with N1.9 trillion, while vegetable took as much as N1.7 trillion.
Nigerians spent N296.6 billion on beverages; confectioneries accounted for N205.5 billion; while they spent N150.2 billion on both bottled and can alcoholic drinks.
In a breakdown by regions, the south-west recorded the highest overall household expenditure as well as the highest expenditure on food and in non-food categories, while the north-east (excluding Borno) recorded the lowest.
Borno was not factored due to the Book Haram crisis that has made it hard to gather data.
Overall, the report showed the south-west at about 29.9 perccent of total expenditure, south-south at 20.94 percent and north-west at about 17.02 percent recorded the highest expenditure in 2019. These three regions accounted for over 67 percent of the total consumption expenditure in Nigeria in 2019.
Lagos State recorded the highest consumption expenditure at N5.1 trillion (13 percent of Nigeria’s), followed by N2.3 trillion (5.8 percent) in Oyo, Delta N2.1 trillion (5.4 percent), Rivers, N2 trillion (4.9 percent) and Kano State N1.9 trillion (4.9 percent).
Yobe (N420 billion), Nasarawa N383.6 billion, Ebonyi N310.2 billion and Taraba N297.4 had the lowest number.
