Ebonyi, Abia lead as food prices soar by 31% across Nigeria

Residents of Abia and Ebonyi states paid more for food as recent data has shown average food prices shot up by 31% between July 2022 and July 2023.

The information was sourced from the Selected Food Price Watch, published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The report also revealed that the lowest food prices were recorded within the North Central region (Kogi, Niger, Benue) during the same period under review.

Some of the food items which were analysed across the states include rice(1kg), beans(1kg), bread (500g), tomatoes, yam, beef, wheat (2kg), garri (1kg) and palm oil (1 bottle).

From the report, the average price of 1kg of Beef (boneless) as of July 2023, stood at ₦2,758.13 thus indicating a 30.17% increase in price on a year-on-year basis from ₦2,118.84 recorded in July 2022.

When compared on a month-on-month basis, the figure indicated a 3.96% rise in price from ₦2,653.02 recorded in June 2023.

Other food items which witnessed price increment include tomato (1kg) which went up year-on-year by 24.88% from ₦446.81 in July 2022, to ₦557.96 in July 2023.

1kg of brown Beans also rose by 19.73% on a year-on-year basis from ₦562.55 in July 2022 to ₦673.53 in July 2023.

The average price of onion bulb (1kg) also increased by 26.65% on a year-on-year basis from ₦396.96 recorded in July 2022 to ₦502.73 in July 2023, while the average price of yam tuber (1kg) also increased by 38.40% on a year-on-year basis from ₦389.75 in July 2022 to ₦539.41 in July 2023.

The average price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle) increased by 31.07% from ₦1,041.58 recorded in July 2022 to ₦1,365.17 in July 2023.

The NBS, in its latest Consumer Price Index, noted that the headline inflation which spiked from 24.08% in July to 25.80% in August was caused by the food inflation rate in August, which stood at 29.34%.