Beans, onion prices surge most in December 2024 -Report

Prices of beans, onion bulbs and palm oil have surged the most in December 2024, according to data from the Selected Food Price report released Friday.

The three food items showed the highest notable yearly increase in the review period.

For most part of 2024, beans was on a price rally that eased in the middle of the year but peaked again in December, according to the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The price of beans considered one of the cheapest protein sources for Nigerians rose 187 percent year-on-year to N2.501 per kg in December 2024 from N871 in December 2023. While month-on-month, it declined from N2, 721 in November 2024.

Farmers and food security experts, said the price rally of beans last year was on the back of low cultivation influenced by worsening insecurity that hindered several farmers from going to farms.

For onion bulbs, the NBS reports that it jumped by 112 percent year-on-year, climbing from N972 in December 2023 to N2,058 in the review period.

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The same was the case month-on-month, recording a 9.57 percent rise from N1,878 in November 2024.

BusinessDay had earlier reported how flooding and poor seedlings across producing regions in the last planting season led to the price surge last year.

Similarly, palm oil prices rose 81 percent to N2,582 percent in December 2024 from N1,425 in December 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 4.68 percent, up from N2,467 in November 2024, according to the report.

Last year, palm oil prices rose due to industry thirst amid insufficient production by local producers, according to industry experts. Cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries large thirst for the oil pushed prices to record highs.

On a state level, the NBS reports that the South-East recorded the highest food price surge in the review period. The average food price in the region increased from N3,366 in November to N3,484 in December 2024, making it the highest in the nation.

However, the North-West region recorded the lowest average food price at N2,527 increasing slightly from N2,512 in November, reflecting the differences of the regions.