Nigeria’s spending on the importation of food and beverage products surged to N7.65 trillion in 2025, highlighting the country’s increasing reliance on foreign food supplies amid rising domestic demand and structural challenges in the agricultural sector.
The figures are based on the latest Foreign Trade Statistics report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report indicates that the imports consist of both primary food products and processed food items, which are used for industrial production as well as household consumption.
Nigeria’s food import bill in 2025 was largely driven by the importation of both primary and processed food products used across industries and households.
Primary food and beverage imports accounted for N3.49 trillion of the total import value.
Out of this amount, N2.09 trillion was imported mainly for industrial use, while N1.40 trillion was primarily meant for household consumption.
Processed food and beverage imports reached N4.17 trillion, representing the largest share of the country’s total food import bill.
Of the processed imports, N2.60 trillion was used mainly for industrial purposes such as food processing and manufacturing, while N1.57 trillion was targeted at household consumption.
The figures show that a substantial portion of Nigeria’s food imports is used as industrial inputs for food manufacturing, underscoring the role of imported raw materials in supporting the country’s food processing sector.
