Nigeria's food import value increased by 121.7% to ₦1.9 trillion within 5 years
According to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the value of food imported into Nigeria increased from ₦857 billion recorded in 2018 to ₦1.9 trillion in 2022.
Some major factors have been identified as reasons for the low level of food production in the country and chief among them is the increased level of insecurity.
The areas that have been severely hit by the activities of terrorists and bandits are centered around the country’s agricultural belt, a development that has forced farmers to abandon their farmlands over fears of attacks.
The worsening fuel crises have also affected farmers who have to pay more to transport their goods across the country while other factors like the absence of farming inputs such as seeds, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and the sharp increase in the price of agro machinery have forced farmers to either cut down or abandon production.
This has led to an over-dependence on food imports as the NBS data has shown the value of food imported into the country within a five-year period spiked by 121.7%. The total value of agricultural imports from 2018 to 2022 amounted to ₦6.916 trillion while total agricultural exports within the period was ₦1.997 trillion.
When the value of agricultural imports was compared against the value of agricultural exports within the review period, an agricultural trade deficit of ₦4.919 trillion was recorded.
From 2018, the import value increased from ₦857 billion to ₦959 billion in 2019; ₦1.2 trillion in 2020; ₦2 trillion in 2021; before it moderately declined to ₦1.9 trillion in 2022.
From 2018, the value of agricultural exports amounted to ₦302 billion; it recorded a slight decrease to ₦270 billion in 2019, ₦322 billion in 2020, ₦505 billion in 2021 and then ₦598 billion in 2022.
