Jumoke Olasunkanmi
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report has revealed that Nigeria spent a staggering N539.88 billion, equivalent to $375.3 billion on imported food items during the third quarter of 2023.
It also reveals that a substantial 83.87 per cent of Nigeria’s agricultural import value, amounting to N643.68 billion, was dedicated to importing key food items such as durum wheat, cane sugar, mackerel, and other fish varieties.
Notably, the imports included ‘Durum wheat (not in seeds)’ from Poland and Canada, valued at N90.46 billion and N73.03 billion, respectively.
Of all the food items imported during Q3 2023, the report highlights durum wheat as the highest expenditure, amounting to N331.76 billion. This makes wheat the third most imported item in Nigeria, trailing only petrol and gas oil, constituting 3.9% of the total value of goods imported.
Durum wheat, which is ground into semolina and commonly used in the production of pasta, noodles, and bread, holds a significant position in Nigeria’s grain consumption. The Central Bank of Nigeria has acknowledged that wheat ranks third after maize and rice among the most consumed grains in the country.
Furthermore, the report brings attention to the importation of ‘Mackerel (Scomber scombrus, Scomber australasicus, Scomber japonicus) meat, frozen’ from the Faroe Islands, which amounted to N16.35 billion in Q3 2023.
This comprehensive foreign trade report acts as a wake-up call to Nigeria, highlighting the nation’s heavy reliance on food imports and shedding light on both economic and dietary dynamics at play. With such high expenditure on imported food items, it underscores the need for the government to develop and implement strategies to boost domestic agricultural production and reduce reliance on foreign markets.
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