The NBS said this is 5.4 per cent higher than the amount recorded in the previous month.
The national average cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) was N1,035 per adult per day in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The statistics office, in its report titled "Cost of a Healthy Diet April 2024", published on its website on Tuesday, said this is 5.4 per cent higher than the amount recorded in the previous month (March 2024, was N982).
The bureau said in April 2024, the average CoHD was highest in the South-west at N1,406 per adult per day, compared to N781 per adult per day in the North-west.
The NBS said the CoHD is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meet globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
It explained that it is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.
This, it said, is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day, excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.
"The National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet was N1,035 per adult per day in April 2024. At the State level, Ekiti, Ogun and Osun States recorded the highest costs with N1,483, N1,447, and N1,417, respectively. Kogi and Katsina accounted for the lowest costs with N709, followed by Kaduna and Nasarawa with N756 and N769, respectively.
"Lastly, at the Zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South West Zone at N1,406 per day, followed by the South East Zone with N1,190 per day. The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in the North West Zone with N781 per day," the NBS said.
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Cost share by food group
According to the bureau, animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in April, accounting for 36 per cent of the total CoHD to provide 13 per cent of the total calories.
It said fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie; they accounted for 11 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, of total CoHD while providing only 7 per cent and 5 per cent of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket.
It added that legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at 6 per cent of the total cost.
In recent years, food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria. The situation deteriorated due to the impact of government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol, among others.
The upward trend in the prices of these staples and other products has weakened the purchasing power of many citizens, making it difficult for many households in the country to afford daily meals.
Nigeria's annual inflation rate rose to 33.69 per cent in April from 33.20 per cent in March, the NBS said in its latest inflation report.
According to the report, the food inflation rate in April 2024 quickened to 40.53 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 15.92 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023 (24.61 per cent).
On Tuesday, the statistics office said the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.
However, it noted the CoHD and the Food Consumer Price Index (CPI) are not directly comparable; the CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.
