Food, beverage imports jumped by N1.07tn in 2025 – NBS

Nigeria’s food and beverage import bill rose by N1.07tn in one year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics Foreign Trade Statistics report.

The figures show that the value of food and beverage imports increased from N6.58tn in 2024 to N7.65tn in 2025, representing a year-on-year rise of N1.07tn or 16.34 per cent.

The development occurred alongside an overall increase in Nigeria’s total import bill, which climbed from N60.59tn in 2024 to N67.35tn in 2025, reflecting an increase of N6.76tn or 11.15 per cent.

An analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics data indicates that food and beverage imports accounted for 10.86 per cent of total imports in 2024, rising to 11.36 per cent in 2025. The statistics further show that food and drinks imports contributed 15.91 per cent of the total growth recorded in Nigeria’s import bill during the period.

A breakdown of the data shows that primary food and beverage imports rose significantly during the year under review. The value of primary food and beverage imports increased from N2.90tn in 2024 to N3.49tn in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of N592.53bn or 20.46 per cent.

Within this category, imports of primary food items mainly for industrial use recorded the fastest growth. These imports rose from N1.56tn in 2024 to N2.09tn in 2025, indicating an increase of N531.98bn or 34.11 per cent.

By contrast, imports of primary food items mainly for household consumption recorded a more moderate rise, increasing from N1.34tn in 2024 to N1.40tn in 2025, representing an increase of N60.54bn or 4.53 per cent.

The data also show that processed food and beverage imports increased during the period. Processed food imports rose from N3.68tn in 2024 to N4.17tn in 2025, indicating a year-on-year increase of N482.22bn or 13.09 per cent.

Further disaggregation reveals that processed food products mainly for industrial use grew from N2.17tn in 2024 to N2.60tn in 2025, representing an increase of N422.81bn or 19.46 per cent.

Meanwhile, processed food items mainly for household consumption increased slightly from N1.51tn in 2024 to N1.57tn in 2025, reflecting a rise of N59.42bn or 3.93 per cent.

The sharp increase in imports of primary food items for industrial use indicates growing demand from domestic processors and manufacturers that rely on imported agricultural inputs and raw materials.

However, the rise in food imports also shows persistent structural challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural supply chain, including productivity constraints, post-harvest losses and gaps in local processing capacity.

With food and beverage imports alone accounting for more than N7.6tn in 2025, the data highlight the scale of Nigeria’s reliance on imported food inputs despite ongoing policy efforts aimed at boosting domestic agricultural production and strengthening food security.

This surge occurred as food inflation dropped significantly in 2025, nearing single digits. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that food inflation moderated sharply in 2025.

The food inflation rate fell from 39.84 per cent in December 2024 to 10.84 per cent in December 2025, reflecting a steep slowdown in the pace of food price increases during the year.

The decline indicates that although Nigeria’s food import bill rose significantly during the year, the rate at which food prices increased slowed markedly, suggesting easing supply pressures and improved price stability in key food items toward the end of 2025.

The PUNCH earlier reported that a Federal Government–backed agribusiness policy committee recommended the formal closure of current rice import windows, citing falling food inflation and evidence that Nigeria’s rice surplus is being driven largely by high import volumes rather than domestic production capacity.

The recommendation was contained in the communiqué of the Second Cycle Meeting of the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, held in Abuja in December 2025.

The communiqué was issued by the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, which coordinates the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, following endorsements from participating ministries, agencies, state governments and development partners.

The committee observed that the rice surplus was largely sustained by historically high import levels rather than improvements in domestic production capacity. This, it said, distinguished rice from other staples with positive balances that were still facing estimated supply gaps due to production constraints.

“Despite positive balances, domestic production remains insufficient to fully meet national demand, with estimated supply gaps of approximately three million MT in maize, 600,000 MT in soybean, 400,000 MT in sorghum, and one million MT in wheat. Rice shows a surplus of approximately 1.1 million MT, largely sustained by historically high import levels rather than domestic production capacity,” the communiqué read.

In its assessment, the meeting linked the continued inflow of imported rice to earlier policy decisions taken when food inflation exceeded 40 per cent. Participants noted that import windows were opened as a response to acute inflationary pressures, but that the subsequent easing of food inflation below 14 per cent altered the policy context.

As a result, under the Imports Lever of its four-pillar framework, the committee recommended that current rice import windows be formally closed, given the changed inflation dynamics. It also agreed that any future activation of the import lever should be synchronised with price stabilisation mechanisms to protect domestic producers.

The organised private sector earlier told The PUNCH that the surge in food imports was due to weak local production, insecurity, inconsistent agricultural policy, and consumer preference for imported products perceived to have better quality and availability.

The Chairman of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Agricultural and Allied Group, Tunde Banjoko, said the figures reflected a lack of trust in locally produced raw materials and food items.

“From this data, what one can simply infer is that people trust the quality and integrity of imported raw materials, foodstuff, and beverages for household consumption more than what is being produced locally,” he said.

Banjoko noted that factors such as price competitiveness, quality control, and availability played significant roles in shaping consumer preferences. He added, “We are still battling with inadequate funding to do things properly the way they ought to be done. The quality of our seedlings, the use of chemicals, and our production processes are still affecting the overall output.”

The LCCI agric group chief added that the country’s poor storage systems and weak commodity boards had worsened the problem, leading to seasonal shortages of local produce.

He advised the Federal Government to establish stronger funding mechanisms for agribusinesses and guarantee offtake systems through commodity boards to stabilise supply.

The President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Femi Egbesola, explained that insecurity and low technological adoption in agriculture were among the main reasons Nigeria continued to rely on food imports.

Egbesola said, “Most of the farmers are no longer on the farms because of insecurity. Many farmlands have been deserted. That is where the primary products come from. It is when the farmers plant and harvest. That is when the manufacturers and other users can buy from them and use them as their inputs. This time, many of the farms are deserted.”

He noted that Nigeria’s agricultural productivity remained well below global standards due to outdated tools and practices. He urged the government to integrate technology into farming, upgrade equipment for smallholder farmers, and invest in agricultural mechanisation to close the production gap.(Punch)