Prices of beans, egg, garri surge the most in July – NBS

The average prices of beans, eggs and garri rose considerably in July compared to other food items, data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows.

The NBS Selected Food Price Watch report for the review period shows that the average price of beans – one of Nigeria’s main sources of protein surged by 262.98 percent on a year-on-year basis from N673.53 recorded in the same period last year to N2,444.81.

Month-on-month, prices of beans rose by 6.63 percent from N2,292.76 in June.

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In local markets across the country, prices of beans have soared to record high from an average of N6,500 in January to above N10,000 in July, depending on the type.

Also, the report indicated that prices of agric eggs (12 pieces) experienced a significant increase year on year by 92 percent from N1,006 in July 2023 to N 1,935 in the period under review.

“On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item rose by 12.11 percent from N 1,935 in June 2024,” the NBS stated.

Currently, a crate of eggs sells for N5,200 in Lagos, rising by 160 percent from N2,000 last year.

Similarly, the average price of 1kg garri white sold loose went up by 167.98 percent on a year-on-year basis from N429.89 in the same period last year to N1,151.79 in July 2024.

The NBS reported that while prices of yam increased by 234.23 percent year-on-year to N1,802.84 in July from N539.41 in the same period of 2023, it decreased by 10.82 percent month-on-month, from N2,021.55 in June to N1,802.84 in July.

Read also: Global food prices ease marginally in July

This monthly decline in yam prices is driven by the beginning of a new harvest season in the tuber which has led to the fall of the tuber in many markets.

Findings by BusinessDay show that a big tuber of yam in the Mile 12 Market of Lagos has dropped to an average of N4,000 from nearly N10,000 in June/July.

According to the report, prices of tomatoes fell by 26.43 percent in the period on a month-on-month basis, from an average of N2,302.26 in June to N1,693.83 in July.

The state profile analysis in the period reveals that the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans (sold loose) was recorded in Rivers State at N3,070.96 while the lowest was in Adamawa at N1,532.23.

Gombe recorded the highest average price of 1kg garri at N1,624.72, while the lowest was reported in Taraba at N892.98. The highest average price of 1kg of yam tuber was recorded in Kwara State at N3,894.08, and Adamawa recorded the lowest price at N742.95.