Food Import Demand and Its Impact on Nigeria’s Economic Development: An Empirical Analysis
Emmanuel Joseph Zira
Department of General Studies, Federal Polytechnic, Mubi
Email: ejosephzira@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study empirically assesses and analyzes the long history of excessive demand for imported commodities and its impact on Nigerians, which in recent times has become worrisome. The objective of the study was to empirically attempt an x-ray on Nigeria’s import demand to assess its impact on the economic growth and development by disaggregating import into food, and service for the period 1987 to 2020. Thus, determining the extent to which food and service import affects the development of the Nigerian economy and to establish the resultant effect that excessive importation unleashes on the economy. Data for the study was generated from the World Bank compiled by world Integrated Trade System (WITS), International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics Year book, the Central Bank of Nigeria annual report, National Bureau for Statistics. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) modelling framework was used for analysis of the study using the eviews software. Findings reveal the existence of strong long-run relationships between import demand and its key macroeconomic determinants, with notable differences in responsiveness across the food and service sectors. The study therefore, recommends among others that Government should intensify investments in agriculture, promote the growth of local service industries and formulation of Trade policies that encourage openness which supports domestic production.
Keywords: import demand, economic development, foreign exchange, ARDL, GDP
CITE AS: Emmanuel Joseph Zira (2026). Food Import Demand and Its Impact on Nigeria’s Economic Development: An Empirical Analysis. INOSR ARTS AND HUMANITIES 12(1):10-21. https://doi.org/10.59298/INOSRAH/2026/1211021