Africa Press-Nigeria:
Nigerians spent about ₦22.8 trillion on food in 2019, according to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This is about 57 per cent of the total spending (N40.2 trillion) by Nigerians for that period.
The largest chunk of the food expenditure — ₦4 trillion — was spent on food consumed outside the home, the May 2020 report, which was last released in 2010, showed. This includes food gotten from restaurants, bars, roadside joints, among others.
Starchy roots, tubers (like yam, potatoes etc.) and plantain are the next most consumed food items at ₦2.5 trillion, followed by rice, ₦1.9 trillion and vegetables, ₦1.7 trillion.
Ranked among the least bought food items, beverages cost Nigerians ₦296.6 billion; confectioneries accounted for ₦205.5 billion; while they spent ₦150.2 billion on both bottled and can alcoholic drinks.
Non-food expenditure
Data from the survey show that Nigerians spent about ₦17.4 trillion (about 43 per cent of their spendings) on non-food expenses in 2019.
Transportation (₦2.6 trillion), health (₦2.5 trillion), education (₦2.4 trillion) and telecommunication services (₦2.2 trillion) top the list in this category.
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Other expenses incurred by Nigerians during the period under review include rent (₦2.1 trillion), fuel and light (₦2 trillion), clothing and footwear ₦1.8 trillion, household goods (₦1.1 trillion), entertainment (₦428.2 billion), water (₦197.6 billion).
Further breakdown
On a regional basis, 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.
Overall, the report showed, the south-west at about 29.95 per cent of total expenditure, south-south at 20.94 per cent and north-west at about 17.02 per cent recorded the highest expenditure in 2019. These three regions accounted for over 67 per cent of the total consumption expenditure in Nigeria in 2019.
