The average daily cost of purchasing healthy food in Nigeria increased by 32% to N1,041 in May 2024, up from N786 in December 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS disclosed this in its latest Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) report for May 2024, released on Friday in Abuja. The report also noted a marginal month-on-month increase of 1% in May 2024, compared to N1,035 in April.
“This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation,” the report stated.
State-by-state analysis revealed that Ebonyi, Abia, and Anambra recorded the highest CoHD at N1,225, N1,215, and N1,205, respectively.
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Conversely, Kano recorded the lowest CoHD at N898, followed by Jigawa at N899, and Yobe and Katsina at N906.
Zonal analysis showed the highest cost of a healthy diet in the South-West at N1,189 per adult per day, followed by the South-East at N1,190 per day.
The North-West recorded the lowest average CoHD at N919 per adult per day.
The NBS noted that the cost of a healthy diet has steadily increased since the first CoHD report by the Bureau in October 2023.
The primary drivers of this increase are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods, while vegetables and fruits recorded the lowest price increases on a month-on-month basis.
This development comes amid a continuous rise in food inflation, which reached 40.66% in May 2024.
