Data from the Q3 2022 Foreign Trade Statistics report by the National Bureau of Statistics has shown that household food and beverage imports rose by 71.12 per cent between the third quarter of 2018 and the corresponding quarter of 2022.

This development is coming despite the foreign exchange crisis in the country. The food and beverage imports were classified into primary and processed foods for households.

In Q3 2018, the primary food and beverage imports were put at N84.84bn while that of processed foods were about N77.41bn, making a total of N162.25bn.

By Q3 2022, the primary food and beverage imports were about N153.82bn while that of processed foods were about N123.82bn, making a total of N277.64bn.

Nigeria’s headline inflation has continued to rise this year, hitting a new high of 21.47 per cent in November 2022 from 21.09 per cent in October 2022.

According to the Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics this month, this was the highest rate in about 17 years.

NBS said that the reason for the increase year-on-year was the increase in the cost of importation due to the persistent currency depreciation and a general increase in the cost of production, including an increase in energy cost.

The month-on-month increase recorded was attributed to the sharp increase in demand usually experienced during the festive season.

The food inflation rate also increased to 24.13 per cent on a year-on-year basis, a 6.92 per cent higher compared to 17.21 per cent recorded in November 2021.

The World Bank recently said Nigeria might have one of the highest inflation rates globally in 2022, with increasing prices diminishing the welfare of Nigerian households.