Nigeria spent a staggering N7.65 trillion on food and beverage imports in 2025, according to the latest Foreign Trade Statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report shows that the imports included both primary food products and processed food items, used for industrial production and household consumption, highlighting the country’s growing dependence on foreign food supplies.
- Primary food and beverages: N3.49 trillion
- Industrial use: N2.09 trillion
- Household consumption: N1.40 trillion
- Processed food and beverages: N4.17 trillion
- Industrial purposes (food processing and manufacturing): N2.60 trillion
- Household consumption: N1.57 trillion
These numbers reveal that a significant portion of Nigeria’s food imports serves as industrial inputs for food manufacturing, underscoring the crucial role of imported raw materials in the country’s food processing sector.
The data also show a steady rise in Nigeria’s food import expenditure over the past four years:
- 2024: N6.58 trillion
- 2023: N3.83 trillion
- 2022: N2.86 trillion
Overall, Nigeria’s food import bill has more than doubled in four years, reflecting the widening gap between domestic production and national consumption needs.
