– Buys healthy meal 56 times a month
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene paid by consumers in June 2024 was N1,555.11, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, which portends that the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000 can buy only 45 litres.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price of kerosene per litre in June 2024 was recorded in Kaduna with N2,072.92, which means the minimum wage can buy 33.7 litres, and 56 litres in Kebbi State which recorded the lowest price at N1,248.15.
Similarly, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) was N15,736.27 in June 2024, this would mean that the new minimum wage can buy 56kg of gas or refill 12.5kg cylinder four times.
On state profile analysis, Cross River recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG with N16,888.89, which protends that N70,000 minimum wage can buy 51.8 kg and 60kg of LPG in Bauchi State which recorded the lowest average price at N13,450.
According to NBS, the national average Cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD, was N1,241 in June 2024, which translates that the newly approved minimum wage of N70,000 can buy it only 56 times, which is approximately 19days for three square meals a day.
According to NBS, the Cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD, is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
CoHD is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets, and it is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.
NBS admitted that in recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation, noting that N1,241 in June 2024, is 19.2% higher than the N1,041 recorded in May 2024.
In June 2024, the average CoHD was highest in the South West at N1,545 per adult per day, which means the N70,000 minimum wage can buy it 45 times, compared to N956 per adult per day in North West, which the new minimum wage can buy 73 times.
Selected food price watch for June 2024 shows that the average price of 1kg beans brown (sold loose) stood at N2,292.76, which would mean that the new minimum wage can buy only 30.5kg of beans which is approximately half bag.
Tomatoes (1kg) experienced significant price increases year on year by 320.67% from N547.28 in June 2023 to N 2,302.26 in June 2024, which the new minimum wage can buy only 30.4 kg.
The minimum wage can buy 61kg of garri at N1,135.51 per kg in June 2024 and 34.6 of yam tuber at N2,021.55 per kg according to a report on selected food price watch by NBS.
