Food inflation soars as prices of foodstuffs increase

The prices of basic food items in Nigeria have continued to soar as the food inflation rate has climbed another notch in the month of August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In a new report titled ‘Selected Food Prices Watch (August 2023)’, released on Monday, the NBS disclosed that prices of items like beef, tomatoes, beans, garri, yam, and other food commodities were on the increase in August.

The report which the NBS said was a result of a nationwide survey, showed that the prices of food items have skyrocketed, leaving many people unable to afford staple foods.

The survey, according to the report, took in food items like local rice, yam, tomato, bread, plantain, veggies, fish, beans, and others.

“The average price of 1kg of boneless beef was N2,141 in August 2022, it increased by 30.75 percent to N2,799 in August 2023,” the report noted.

“On a month-on-month basis, 1kg of boneless beef increased by 1.50 per cent in August from the N2,758.13 recorded in July 2023.

“The average price of 1kg of local rice sold loose increased by 62.68% on a year-on-year basis from N454.10 in August 2022 to N738.74 in August 2023.

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“On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 13.04% from N653.49 in July 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 3.88 percent from the N673.53 recorded in July 2023 to N692.95 in August.

“The average price of 1kg of Yam tuber rose by 42.80% on a year-on-year basis from N403.65 in August 2022 to N576.39 in August 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 2.10 per cent from the N502.73 recorded in July to N513.29 in August 2023.

“The average price of 1 litre of palm oil increased by 38.13 percent on a year-on-year-basis, from N896.63 in August 2022 to N1, 238.56 in August 2023.

“On a month-on-month basis, it rose by 2.48 percent from the N1, 208 recorded in July to N1,238 documented in August this year.

“The average price of garri increased by 49.16 percent on a year-on-year-basis, from N305.92 in August 2022 to N456.32 in August 2023, the NBS stated.

“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 6.15 percent from the N429.89 recorded in July to N456.32 recorded in August 2023,” the report said.

The NBS added that the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending August 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was “25.01%, which was a 5.99% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2022 (19.02%)”.