July 28, (THEWILL) – There are fears of an imminent food crisis as prices of basic items have skyrocketed – hitting over 250 percent in one year, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report stated that the prices of major staple foods in Nigeria, such as beans, yam, potato, plantain and tomato have risen by over 250 per cent in the last one year.
This is according to the latest Food Price Watch from the NBS, which states that the price of beans soared by 252 per cent between June 2023 and June 2024.
The report indicates that the average price of 1kg of brown beans (sold loose) stood at N2,292.76, representing a 252.13 per cent increase year-on-year from N651.12 in June 2023 and a 14.11 per cent increase month-on-month from N2,009.23 in May 2024.
Tomatoes (1kg) also saw significant price increases, rising by 320.67 per cent year-on-year from N547.28 in June 2023 to N2,302.26 in June 2024. On a month-on-month basis, the average price of tomatoes increased by 55.59 per cent from N1,479.69 in May 2024.
Additionally, the price of Irish potatoes rose by 288.50 per cent year-on-year from N623.75 in June 2023 to N2,423.27 in June 2024, and by 51.92 per cent month-on-month from N1,595.07 in May 2024.
Furthermore, the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased by 295.79 per cent year-on-year, from N510.77 in June 2023 to N2,021.55 in June 2024.On a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 52.87 per cent, from N1,322.36 in May 2024 to N2,021.55 in June 2024.
Other staple foods also experienced significant price increases over the past year. For instance, the average price of 1kg of loose white garri rose by 181.66 per cent year-on-year, from N403.15 in June 2023 to N1,135.51 in June 2024. Additionally, there was a 1.86 per cent increase on a month-on-month basis.
Also, the average price of local rice sold loose rose by 179.97 per cent from N608.20 in June 2023 to N1,702.24 in June 2024. Nigerians on the average paid double the price for wheat from June 2023 to June 2024 as the price rose from N1,380.45 per Kg to N3,157.75 indicating an increase of 128.75 per cent during the 12-month period.
Among food items with over a 250 per cent year-on-year increase, the South-West recorded the highest prices. For example, the analysis by zone showed that the average price of brown beans (sold loose) was highest in the North-Central at N2,923.45, followed by the South-South at N2,630.03, while the North-West recorded the lowest average price at N1,647.03.
The average price of 1kg of tomatoes was highest in the South-West and the South-East at N3,261.84 and N2,852.59, respectively, with the lowest recorded in the North-West at N1,411.16. The South-West recorded the highest average price of 1kg of yam tuber at N2,745.80, followed by the North-Central at N2,440.35, while the lowest was recorded in the North-West at N1,238.49.
Additionally, the South-West and the North-East recorded the highest average price of 1kg of loose white garri at N1,199.62 and N1,155.63, respectively, while the lowest was recorded in the North-Central at N1,055.87.
Nigeria’s inflation figure reached a new high, hitting 34.19 per cent for June 2024, the NBS said last week.
This is an increase of 0.24 per cent points when compared to the inflation figure for May 2024 released by the NBS.
“In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19 per cent relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95 per cent.
“Looking at the movement, the June 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24 per cent points when compared to the May 2024 headline inflation rate,” the NBS said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) – which measures the average change over time in the prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.40 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79 per cent.”
According to the NBS, the headline inflation rate, year-on-year basis, jumped in June 2024 when compared to the same month in the last year.
