BUSINESS DAY
The prices of major food items such as maize, milk and plantain have almost doubled within 12 months, leading the pack in terms of the largest price increase in Nigeria.
According to the latest selected food prices report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average price of 1kg of maize grain (white sold loose) rose by 93 percent to N580.1 in August 2023 from N300.5 in the same period of last year while the yellow type grew by 90.2 percent to N583.7 from N306.9.
The average price of a 170g evaporated canned milk carnation increased by 81.7 percent to N431.3. The price of 1kg of plantain (unripe) and plantain(ripe) rose by 78.6 percent and 77.1 percent respectively.
Others are a 170g evaporated canned milk (peak), which grew by 76.1 percent; 1kg of rice (local sold loose), 62.7percent; 1kg of rice (medium grained), 51.5 percent and 1kg of garri (white sold loose), 49.2 percent.
The report also revealed that the total average food price for the 43 food items rose by 31.5 percent to N51,414.1 from N39,108.5 with 1kg of frozen chicken (N 3,144.1), 1kg of Beef, boneless (N2,799.5), 1kg of dried catfish (N2,650.0), 1kg of dried mudfish (N2,535.1) and dried fish sardine (N2,226.9) recording the highest prices for August.
In the NBS’s latest Consumer Price Index report, food inflation rose to 29.34 percent, the highest in 18 years from 26.98 percent in July. Food inflation, which constitutes 50 percent of the inflation rate, was the major factor that pushed the country’s headline inflation to 25.80 percent from 24.08 percent.
“The rise in the food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables and potatoes, yam and other tubers, milk, cheese and eggs,” the NBS said.
Unsurprisingly, food prices increased on the underlying factors such as the pass-through effect of elevated Petrol Motor Spirit prices on food prices, higher input costs and conflicts in the Northern region of the country – remain intact, according to analysts at Cordros Securities.
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