By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) fell by 0.8 percent month-on-month (MoM) to N1,255 per adult per day in August from N1,265 per adult per day in July.

This represents the first MoM decline since January when CoHD grew to N858 and continued rising to N1,265 in July, a development attributed to increase in prices of legumes, nuts and seeds, starchy staples and vegetables. 

In its CoHD report for August 2024 released yesterday, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, explained that CoHD is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines. This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.

NBS, in the report, stated: “The national average cost of a healthy diet was N1,255 per adult per day in August 2024. 

“At the state level Ogun, Lagos and Rivers States recorded the highest cost with N1,641, N1,615, and N1,572 respectively. Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto accounted for the lowest costs with N880, N951 and N980.

“At the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South West Zone at N1,554 per day, followed by the South-South zone with N1,381 per day. 

“The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in the North West zone with N1,041 per day.

“The CoHD has been steadily rising over the past six (6) months, since March 2024. In August 2024, the CoHD was 28 percent higher than it was in March 2024 (N982). 

“The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are legumes, nuts and seeds, starchy staples and vegetables. 

“On a MoM basis, it declined by 0.8 percent compared to the cost in July 2024 (N1,265). vegetables saw a decline in price by 14.5 percent on a monthly basis.”

On cost share by food group, the bureau said: “Animal source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in August, accounting for 37 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 14 percent, respectively, of total CoHD while providing only 7 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.” 

According to the bureau, in recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation. 

It added: “However, the CoHD and the food Consumer Price Index,  CPI,  are not directly comparable; the CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.”