By BENJAMIN ORISEMEKE, Abuja –
Nigeria spent a total of N1.29 trillion on wheat importation in 2021, 71.1 per cent higher than what was spent the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
Nigeria imported durum wheat worth N1.29 trillion in 2021, representing a 71.1 per cent increase compared to N756.92 billion recorded in the previous year, and more than tripled the N401.31 billion recorded in 2019.
This is based on Nigeria’s foreign trade data, released by the NBS.
According to the NBS report, durum wheat import accounted for 6.2 per cent of the total import bill recorded in the review year, representing the second-highest contributor to Nigeria’s import bill and the highest imported food item.
As at last month, the prices of wheat climbed to a nine-year high as investors worry about a potential supply disruption, being that Russia, the top wheat exporter in the world, might be going to war. This further increases the costs of food staples around the world.
The escalating crisis over Ukraine has sparked fears that shipments from Russia, which is a heavyweight of global grains trade, could be affected. Any sanctions by world powers could threaten a vital source of supply at a time when unfavourable weather and robust demand have already reduced crop stockpiles.
Durum wheat is a variety of spring wheat that is typically grinded into semolina and used to make pasta, couscous, bulgur, noodles, and bread, all of which are highly consumed meals in Nigeria. A further look at the data shows that durum wheat imported in 2021, represents the highest on record.
The disaggregated data shows that the highest wheat import for the year was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021 at N397.19 billion, followed by the second quarter of 2021 (N324.72 billion), third quarter of 2021 (N315.17 billion), and first quarter of 2021 (N258.3 billion).
The surging wheat import could be attributed to the supply gap in the country and improved demand in the domestic market. However, the recent invasion of Russia in Ukraine has sent the prices of wheat to record high, further affecting the global wheat supply value chain.
Nigeria could be spending more on wheat import following the war, which has further escalated the inflation level in advanced economies, and by extension Nigeria due to our dependence on importation.
For example, US inflation climbed to 7.9 per cent in February 2022, representing a 40-year high, while Canada recorded a 30-year high inflation of 5.7 per cent in February 2022. Inflation also rose a 30-year high in the UK in January 2022. In the same vein, Nigeria’s inflation rate also rose to 15.7 per cent in February 2022 from 15.6 per cent recorded in the previous month.
Because of the foreign exchange (forex) implication, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year hinted that it will be adding sugar and wheat in the forex restriction list, indicating that importers of wheat will no longer be able to access forex from the Import and Export (I&E) window at the official rate.
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