Nigerians spent ₦1,241 to afford one healthy square meal in June – NBS

• 91% increase on N1,041 spent in May

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigerians spent ₦1,241 to afford one healthy square meal in a day, in June.

NBS, in its monthly Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) report for June, said ₦1,241 showed an increase from May. In May, Nigerians spent ₦1,041 to afford one healthy square meal in a day. The June report showed a 19.2 per cent increase.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meet globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines. It is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.

The report is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.

The report further showed that Nigerians in South West spent ₦1,545 for a healthy meal, while North East residents spent ₦956 for one healthy meal.

The report published on Thursday read: “The National average Cost of a Healthy Diet was ₦1,241 in June 2024. This is 19.2% higher than the amount recorded in the previous month (May 2024, was ₦1,041).

“In June 2024, the average CoHD was highest in the South West at ₦1,545 per adult per day, compared to ₦956 per adult per day in North West.

“In recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation. However, the CoHD and the food 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.”

Recall that food inflation in June also rose from 33.95 percent in May to 34.19 percent.

“In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19% relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95%.

“Looking at the movement, the June 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24% points when compared to the May 2024 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.40% points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79%,” NBS inflation report for June read.