Juliet Jacob Ochenje
A report on food Inflation in Nigeria released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday has shown major increases in food prices amidst the country’s worsening economy.
The report on Selected Food Price Watch for October 2023 posted on the agency’s website showed that the average price of 1kg of tomato rose by 48.73% on a year-on-year basis from N454.46 in October 2022 to N675.91 in October 2023, while on a month-on-month basis, it increased by 19.48% from N565.69 in September 2023.
On state profile analysis, the report showed that South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of tomato at N1,199.77, followed by the South-East at N908.64 and the North-East recorded the lowest price of 1kg of Tomato at N382.92.
It revealed that “similarly, the average price of 1kg rice local sold loose rose by 68.10% on a year-on-year basis from N487.47 in October 2022, to N819.42 in October 2023, while on a month-on-month basis, there was an increase of 8.24% 2023.
“The average price of 1kg of Beans brown sold loose rose by 39.90% on a year-on-year basis from N564.69 in October 2022 to N790.01 in October 2023.”
On state profile analysis, The NBS said Edo recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N1,044.17, while the lowest was reported in Zamfara at N660.79.The South-South and South-East recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N944.69 and N907.50, respectively, while the lowest price was in the North-East at N718.51.
The NBS said that the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans was recorded in Imo at N1,095.84, while Taraba recorded the lowest price at N550.59. For month-on-month basis, it increased by 10.19% from N716.97 in September 2023.
Likewise, “the average price of 1kg beef boneless stood at N2,948.03 in October 2023. This indicated that on a year-on-year basis, the price rose by 30.08% from the value recorded in October 2022 N 2,266.24,and 4.65% on a month-on-month basis from N2,816.91 in September 2023.
“Analysis showed that the average price of 1kg of boneless beef was highest in the South-East at N3,582.88, followed by the South-South at N3,212.32,” it added.
