The National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s statistical system coordinating agency, has reported that prices of staple food items remarkably dropped in October 2025.
The statistics agency, in its latest ‘Selected Food Price Watch, October 2025’ report released on Friday, stated the drop in the food items was both year-on-year and month-on-month, particularly essential staples, including rice, beans, garri, and tomatoes.
According to the NBS, the average price of 1kg of local rice fell to N1,913.78 in October 2025, reflecting 2.01% year-on-year decrease from N1,944.64 in October 2024, and 1.59% drop when compared to the preceding month’s price
The report also showed that the average price of Beans (Brown, 1kg) fell to N1,760.53, representing 37.09% year-on-year decline from N2,798.50 it exchanged for in October last year, and 3.04% drop month-on-month.
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According to the Bureau, the decline in bean prices is primarily due to improved harvest yields and increased market supply across the North-central and North-west regions.
Similarly, the NBS’ data indicated that the price of Garri White (1kg) dropped from N1,198.05 in October 2024 to N846.69 in October 2025, reprsenting 29.33% year-on-year drop, and that month-on-month, garri prices decreased by 2.88% from the N871.78 recorded in September 2025,
Also, the report revealed that the average price of loose tomatoes (1kg) declined to N1,269.17, down 13.43% from N1,465.99 it exchanged at in October last year and 0.83% lower month-on-month.
The statistics agency further clarified that though tomatoes remained highly price-sensitive due to weather and logistics, there was improved supply from across major farming states.
An analysis of the food items pricing trend on state-by-state basis showed disparities in staple food prices across the 36 states, reflecting the uneven dynamics of local supply chains and market conditions.
For instance, the NBS reported that for local rice (1kg), Ogun State recorded the highest average price at N2,163.23, while Yobe recorded the lowest at N1,523.47 while the price of brown beans (1kg), indicated that Imo State recorded the highest cost at N2,174.09 and Yobe recording the cheapest at N1,263.68.
In the case of garri white (1kg), Bayelsa topped the national price chart at N1,165.30, contrasting sharply with Plateau State’s price of N490.10, which was lower than 50% of the national average price.
Similarly, tomatoes (1kg) also reflected wide state-by-state variations with Ebonyi recording the highest average price at N2,224.04, while Plateau recorded the least average price of the commodity at N687.09.
The NBS attributed the wide variations of the staple food prices to structural differences in transportation costs, market accessibility, storage infrastructure, and regional production patterns across the country.
At the regional level, the ‘Selected Food Price Watch, October 2025’ report reflected differences in food prices across Nigeria’s zones with the North-Central region recording the highest average price for local rice at N2,021.70, while the North-East recorded the lowest average price at N1,803.38.
The data also showed that the highest prices for brown beans, were the South-East and South-West regions, averaging N2,105.94 and N2,081.33, respectively compared to the North-West zone where it sold at lowest average price at N1,349.23 in October this year
On garri white, the South-East region recorded the highest average price of N1,066.85, followed by the South-South where it sold at average price of N980.44 during the month under review, while the North-Central zone recorded the lowest average price of N630.44.
