At least five key food classes have shown the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on economic returns and by extension, the consumption pattern of Nigerians.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS)’s data on selected food watch, for May, there was a -0.18% decline in the total average consumption of food items in Nigeria.
The selected food watch report gives an aggregate of the total value of food items consumed monthly. It measures the overall changes in the total consumption of the various food items nationally.
We present the six charts below to highlight the downward swing in food consumption of Nigerians.
Grains
There was a 0.08% change in the average consumption of grains. Rice consumption decreased within the period with Ofada rice experiencing a -0.6%, agric rice a -0.9% and medium grain -0.5%. The use of maize, however, enjoyed positive increases.
Bayelsa state consumed less rice and maise for the period. The highest consuming states for rice are Kebbi, Katsina, Kogi and Kano. Kano also consumed more maize within this period.
Tubers
Tuber consumption changed by 0.58% with yam enjoying the most of this change. Yam consumption increased by 2.95%, and that of sweet potatoes increased by 0.47%. The consumption of Irish potatoes declined by -1.7%.
Akwa Ibom state consumed least quantities of Irish and sweet potatoes. Borno state, however, was the highest consumer of Irish potato. Adamawa and Jigawa consumed more yam and sweet potato, respectively.
Fish and Meat
There was a decline in the average consumption of fish and meat by -0.3%. All the varieties of fish consumed within the period declined to a negative figure save for mackerel, which was 0.6%. Chicken and boneless beef scored similar estimates.
Processed Foods
Processed foods recorded a 0.21% change in consumption in May over April. Items such as Titus, evaporated canned milk carnation, iced sardine and wheat flour experienced positive changes. In contrast, the likes of dread fish sardine and bread (both sliced and unsliced) experienced negative changes.
Oil
Palm oil consumption for the period experienced a -0.12% decline with Cross River accounting for most of its use. Plateau and Kwara states consumed most of the groundnut oil and vegetable oil, respectively. These oil products experienced a 0.02% and 0.52% change in that order. Overall, there was 0.07% of oil consumption.
Others
The average consumption of other major food items decreased by -1.02%. White and yellow garri experienced a 3.1% and 4.9% change. Tomato consumption also increased by 0.4% within the period. There was a decline in the consumption of onion bulb, plantain (both ripe and unripe) and agric eggs.