The first nine months of 2024 saw the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allot $1.87 billion for food imports, a $235.11 million increase over the $1.64 billion recorded during the same time in 2023.
According to the CBN’s quarterly statistical report for the third quarter of 2024, this represents a 14.37% increase in the use of foreign exchange for food imports.
A comparison of the data from year to year shows a range of trends over the months. From $245.69 million in 2023 to $164.43 million in 2024, the foreign exchange allocation fell by 33.08 per cent in January.
But February saw an incredible spike, with allocations almost doubling to $303.91 million in 2024 from $163.57 million in 2023.
Allocations decreased 17.45% by March to $221.54 million, from $268.35 million during the same period in 2023.
With a decline of 36.39% in April, FX utilisation continued its downward trajectory, falling from $240.95 million in 2023 to $153.27 million in 2024.
June saw a little decrease of 4.32 per cent, falling to $197.22 million from $206.13 million in 2023, while May saw a 17.23% dip to $197.21 million from $238.29 million.
However, the latter portion of the evaluation period saw notable development.
Compared to $57.91 million in 2023, allocations in July increased by 158.82 per cent to $149.91 million.
Forex utilisation increased even further in August, rising from $95.33 million in 2023 to $275.04 million, an increase of 188.51%.
Allocations increased by 74.13% to $208.68 million in September from $119.87 million in the same month in 2023.
Trends from month to month in 2024 also showed variations in the use of foreign exchange. Between January and February, allocations increased significantly by 84.85%, from $164.43 million to $303.91 million.
However, allocations dropped to $221.54 million in March, a 27.10 per cent decrease.
By April, forex utilisation had dropped by a further 30.83 per cent, to $153.27 million.
While June was steady at $197.22m, May showed a comeback with a 28.70% gain to $197.21m.
After a notable 24.0 per cent reduction to $149.91 million in July, allocations increased by 83.52% to $275.04 million in August before falling by 24.12% to $208.68 million in September.
Nigeria’s continued reliance on imported food despite initiatives to promote domestic production is highlighted by the rise in the total foreign exchange allotted for food imports in 2024.
According to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation in Nigeria has been on the rise, rising from 33.93 per cent in December 2023 to 39.84 per cent in December 2024 on an annual basis.
Price rises for commodities such as dried fish, rice, yams, and maize were blamed for the surge.
