Nigerians have continued to groan under perennial rising of the cost of food items across the county.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Selected Food Prices Watch Report for July 2022 released in Abuja on Monday, revealed that prices of selected food items increased in July.
The NBS disclosed that the average price of 1kg of white beans rose by 23.22 per cent from N444.21 in July 2021 to N547.38 in July 2022.
The report further indicated that “on a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 2.09 per cent from N536.17 in June 2022 to N547.38 in July 2022.’’
The report also revealed that the average price of 1kg of tomatoes increased on a year-on-year basis by 7.71 per cent from N414.83 in July 2021 to N446.81 in July 2022.
Average price of 1kg beef (boneless) in July 2022 was N2,118.84, an increase of 27.58 per cent from the N1,660.76 recorded in July 2021.
The NBS also stated that average price of a bottle of groundnut oil stood at N1,078.17 in July 2022, showing an increase of 40.24 per cent from N768.81 in July 2021.
The report added that the average price of 1kg of local rice increased on a year-on-year basis by 13.55 per cent from N411.97 in July 2021 to N467.80 in July 2022.
The average price of one bottle of palm oil stood at N890.67 in July 2022, showing an increase of 40.19 per cent from the N635.31 recorded in July 2021.
State-by-State analysis showed that Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of 1kg of white beans in July 2022 at N900.51, while the lowest price was recorded in Borno at N317.73.
The report stated that the highest average price of 1kg of tomato was recorded in Edo at N799.16, while the lowest was recorded in Taraba at N159.14.
Similarly, Rivers recorded the highest price of 1kg of local rice at N619.62, while the lowest was recorded in Jigawa at N363.34.
Analysis by zones showed that the Southeast recorded the highest average price of brown beans at N853.19 per kilogramme, followed by the Southwest at N598.00, while the Northeast recorded the least at N379.03.
The Southeast recorded the highest average price of tomato at N678.80, per kilogramme, followed by the Northwest at N656.93, while the lowest was recorded in the Northeast at N194.72.
The NBS stated that the average price of 1kg of local rice in the Northwest was N796.03, representing the highest recorded in July 2022, followed by the Southwest at N519.64.
The North Central recorded the lowest price for 1kg of local rice at N401.72, the NBS highlighted.