Rice Prices Skyrocket in Nigeria: Foreign and Local Variants Hit Record Highs
In a concerning turn of events, the price of a 50kg bag of foreign rice has skyrocketed to over N88,000 in major stores across Nigeria, marking a staggering 22.2% increase from the earlier recorded price of N72,000 earlier in the month. Similarly, locally produced rice has seen a nearly equivalent surge of 21.8%, reaching N67,000 in just under a month. These figures, uncovered by the Nairametrics Research team, highlight the alarming trend of rising rice prices in the country.
Comparing the current prices to the same period last year reveals even more alarming statistics, with foreign rice witnessing a whopping 244% increase and local rice following closely with a 209% surge. Mrs. Olanike, a rice dealer at Daleko market in Lagos, attributes the recent surge in local rice prices to the parallel increase in foreign rice prices. She points to factors such as the depreciating value of the naira and the continuous ban on foreign rice imports as primary drivers of this trend.
The depreciation of the naira against other currencies has exacerbated the situation, with official and parallel market exchange rates experiencing significant declines of over 45% and 30% year-to-date, respectively.
Furthermore, recent inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) paints a grim picture, revealing that food inflation surged to 35.71% in January 2024, reaching its highest level since August 2005. This worrying trend underscores the urgent need for measures to address the escalating food prices and alleviate the burden on consumers across the nation.
