It has been calculated that the cost of a healthy diet, has increased by 32% from N786 in December 2023 to N1,041 per adult per day in May 2024 against the backdrop of the continuous increase in inflation.
This was revealed yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its CoHD report for May 2024. The report said that the increase in prices of animal source foods, legumes, nuts and seeds, and starchy staples was the primary cause of the surge.
According to a report of the NBS CoHD covering the period from December 2023 to May 2024, the cost of a healthy diet rose from N786 in December 2023 to N858 in January 2024, a month-over-month increase of 9.2 percent MoM. In February, CoHD climbed by 9.3 percent to N938 and in March, it jumped by 4.7 percent to N982.
CoHD increased by 5.4 percent to N1,035 in April and by 0.6 percent to N1,041 in May, showing that the rising trend was still in place. According to the report, in May 2024, the average daily cost of a balanced meal for adults nationwide was N1,041 per person. Since December 2023, the CoHD has been climbing gradually throughout the last six months.
“In May 2024, the CoHD was 32 percent higher than it was in December 2023 (N786). It was also 1.0 percent higher than the cost in April 2024 (N1,035).
“The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods. Vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, saw the smallest increase in price month-on-month,” the report stated.
“Animal source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in May, accounting for 36 percent of the total CoHD to provide 13 percent of the total calories.
“Fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie. They accounted for 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of total CoHD, while providing only 7.0 percent and 5.0 percent of total calories in the healthy diet basket.
“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at 7.0 percent of the total cost.”
The bureau discovered that Kano State had the lowest cost per adult, at N898, and that Ebonyi State had the highest average CoHD, at N1,225 per adult per day.
The North West had the lowest average CoHD of N919 per day, while the South East had the highest CoHD at the zonal level, at N1,189 per day.
