CEM REPORT | Rise in the prices of food items has continued despite the onset of the harvest season when prices are expected to moderate or possibly reverse. This phenomenon appears to be global as many countries are experiencing same.
Cost of energy that has continued on its upward trajectory has persistently fuelled agricultural production and processing cost. This is coupled with the unbaiting insecurity in the country restricting movement of food from point of production to point of consumption.
According to the report of the selected food price watch just released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, food items has shown significant increase from 2021, rising as high as above 40 percent.
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A bottle of Groundnut oil for instance increased by 40.24% from N768.81 in July 2021 to the price of N1,078.17 it sold in July 2022, while the commodity increased on month-on-month basis by 1.44% from N1,062.90 it sold in June 2022.
The average price of 1kg of beans (white, black eye, sold loose) increased to N547.38 in July 2022, an increase of 23.22% from N444.21 in July 2021. On a month-on-month basis, this increased by 2.09% from N536.17 in June 2022.
A kilogram of Tomato also increased by 7.71% from N414.83 in July 2021 to N446.81 in July 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 1.94% from N438.33 in June 2022.
Similarly, the average price of 1kg beef (boneless) in July 2022 was N2,118.84, an increase of 27.58% from N1,660.76 recorded in July 2021. This price rose by 1.87% on a month-on month basis.
While Rice increased year-on-year, month-on-month price movement shows a slight decrease. The average price of 1kg Rice (local sold loose) in July 2022 was N467.80, indicating an increase of 13.55% from the value recorded in July 2021 (N411.97). On a month-on-month basis, it decreased by 4.27% from N488.68 recorded in June 2022.
Average price of Palm oil: (1 bottle, specify bottle) stood at N890.67 in July 2022, showing an increase of 40.19% from N635.31 in July 2021. It grew by 2.27% on a month-on-month basis.
On state profile analysis, Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans (white, Black eye, sold loose) in July 2022 with N900.51, while the lowest was recorded in Borno with N317.73. The highest average price of Tomato 1kg was recorded in Edo with N799.16, while the lowest was recorded in Taraba with N159.14. In the same way, Rivers recorded the highest price of 1kg Rice (locally sold loose) with N619.62, while the lowest was recorded in Jigawa with N363.34
Analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average price of Beans ‘’brown sold loose” with N853.19, followed by the South-West with N598.00, while the NorthEast recorded the least with N379.03. Likewise, the South-East recorded the highest average price of Tomato with N678.80, followed by the North-West with N656.93, while the lowest was recorded in the North-East with N194.72.
The average price of 1kg Rice (local sold loose) in the North-West was N796.03, representing the highest recorded in July 2022, followed by the South-West with N519.64, while the North-Central had the lowest with N401.72.
