Despite the declaration of a state of emergency on food security and the unveiling of immediate, short and long-term plans for agriculture in July, food prices are still rising at a faster pace in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu says the government will deploy savings from petrol subsidy removal into the country’s food system to ramp up food production and halt surging food prices.
Three months later, prices are still surging and showing no signs of slowing, with food inflation hitting 30.64 percent in September.
A BusinessDay survey across some selected markets in Lagos found that the average price of a 50kg bag of local parboiled rice has surged by 17.5 percent to N47,000 from N40,000 when the stabilisation plan was unveiled.
The average price of a 50kg bag of foreign parboiled rice has also risen by 10 percent to N56,000 as against N50,000 it was sold three months ago.
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A big crate of eggs that was sold at an average price of N2,300 in July now sells for N2,600, indicating a 13 percent increase in price. A medium-sized loaf of bread sold for N900 in July now sells for N1,200, indicating a 33 percent increase in price.
BusinessDay analysed the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) selected food price report for July and August – the most recent – and found that prices of most food items have risen considerably since the unveiling of the plan and the emergency declaration.
The average price of a kg of local parboiled rice surged 13.04 percent to N738.74 from N653.49 in July. Similarly, the average price of a kg of foreign parboiled rice increased by 10.08 percent to N957.47 from N869.77 in July.
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The average price of vegetable oil (1 bottle) stood at N1,389.14 in August, an increase of 1.76 percent from N1,365.17 in July when the declaration was made.
In addition, the average price of palm oil increased by 2.48 percent to N1,238.56 in August from N1,208.62 in July.
The average price of 1kg of white garri rose 6.15 percent to N456.32 in August from N429.89 in July. Similarly, the average price of yellow garri increased 5.33 percent month-on-month to N484.22 from N459.70.
More so, the average price of 1kg of sweet potatoes surged by 6.15 percent to N360.53 in August from N339.63 in July.
“No matter how much you take to the market these days, you aren’t sure of what it can buy because prices keep increasing daily,” Rotimi Dairo, an analyst at a consulting firm, said.
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“And this has remained the main driver of the country’s inflation,” he said, urging the federal government to start taking actions to truly stabilise prices.
Some of the measures to stabilise food prices are to release 500,000 hectares of farmland, including by clearing forested areas, to increase available farmland to boost agricultural output as a short-term measure.
For the medium term, the plan is to create a National Commodity Board to continually review food costs, maintain a strategic reserve, and moderate spikes and dips in prices while the central bank continues its funding to the sector.
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Years of worsening insecurity and recent flooding in the country’s north-central region, which is the nation’s main food-producing area, have reduced farming activities and led to shortages in almost all staples.
The situation has heightened concerns for food security and led to high rates of hunger and malnutrition in the country.
