Nigerians spent N4.59trn eating outside home in 2019  

Ten years after the last consumption expenditure pattern report was released, the National Bureau of Statistics has released the 2019/2010 consumption pattern report.

A breakdown shows that at the national level the total household expenditure on food and non-food for 2019 was N40.2 trillion compared to N21.6 trillion recorded in 2009/2010, the last time the survey was conducted.

Of this total, 56.65percent (60.2percent in 2009/10) of total household expenditure in 2019 was spent on food with the balance of about 43.35% (39.8 % in 2009/10) spent on non- food items.

Food consumed outside the home at N4.59 trillion, followed by transportation costs at N2.58trillion and starchy roots, tubers and plantains at N2.52trillion were responsible for the largest proportion of household expenditure representing a combined 24.16 percent of total household expenditure in 2019.

Further analysis of food expenditure by households in 2019 reveals that various foods consumed outside the home, which includes starchy roots, tubers and plantains, rice, vegetables, fish and sea food, grains and flours in that order were the top food items households spent on in 2019 accounting for a combined 59.19percent of food expenditure and 33.53percent of total household expenditure on food and 24.8percent of total household expenditure.

Household expenditure on non-food items on the other hand were directed mostly at transport, health, education and services (which includes information technology and communication equipment as well as things like insurance, financial services and so on), rent and fuel and light, accounting for a combined 79.40percent of non-food expenditure.

Further analysis show that Nigerians spent more on non-alcoholic drinks and sugar-related products than they did over alcohol, during the period under review. In total, households spent N551.2 billion on non-alcoholic drinks, N205.5 billion on sugar, sweets and confectionary, and N150.3 billion on alcoholic drinks.

The consumption pattern report also show that Nigerians spent a total of N2.46 trillion was spent on healthcare; N2.46 trillion was spent on healthcare, N2.3 trillion on education.

Total household expenditure in urban areas in 2019 stood at N19.1trillion (N8.4trillion in 2009/10), relative to N21trillion (N9.36trillion in 2009/10) in the rural areas. The total expenditure on food in urban areas stood at N9.84 trillion in 2019 (N3.65trillion in 2009/2010), while in rural areas it was N12.9trillion.

Interestingly, both areas spent mostly on food outside the home, Starchy foods, tubers, and plantains, and rice representing about 37.96percent for rural and about 42.59percent for urban areas of total expenditure on food. In the non-food section, education, transport, services and rent represented the highest expenditure for urban households while expenditure on health, transport, education and services dominated non-food household expenditure in 2019.

Most of the nation’s expenditure came in from Lagos with N5,068,032,243,934.00 or 12.60percent of total household expenditure, followed by Oyo (5.83%), Delta (5.38%), Rivers (4.99%) Kano State (4.91%), while Taraba, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Yobe, and Gombe, account for less than five percent.