….As Rice Price Surges By 98.47%
As Nigeria’s surging inflation rate which rose to an all-time record high of 29.90% in January this year continued to take huge toll on consumers’ real incomes, Nigerians paid higher for all categories of food items in the month under review as the average price of 1kg Rice local sold loose stood at N1,021.79, representing 98.47% increase year-on-year.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its ‘Selected Food Price Watch (January 2024) published on Monday, February 26, on its website, reported that on a month-on-month basis, the average price of the commodity increased by 11.31% from N917.93 consumers paid in December 2023.
Also, the report showed that the average price of 1kg of Beef boneless rose by 37.08% on a year-on-year basis from N2,418.91 in January of last year to N3,315.78 in January this year and that on a month-on-month basis, the average price of the food item increased by 5.37% from N3,146.94 in December 2023.
The statistics agency indicated that in the month under review, the average price of 1kg of Beans brown (sold loose) rose by 64.42% on a year-on-year basis from N593.96 in January 2023 to N976.58 in January 2024, adding that on a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 12.16% from N870.67 it exchanged at as of December 2023.
Similarly, it also reported that the average price of 1kg onion bulb rose by 97.38% on a year-on-year basis from N446.44 in January last year to N881.20 in January 2024, but that the price dropped by 9.33% on a month-on-month basis.
The Bureau further disclosed that the average price of 1kg of Tomato rose by 80.98% on a year-on-year basis from N467.04 in January 2023 to N845.26 in January this year, adding that on a month-on-month basis, the food item’s price increased by 3.82% from N814.16 in December 2023 to N845.26 in the month under review.
On state-by-state basis, the report indicated that in January 2024 the highest average price of 1kg of Rice local sold loose was recorded in Abuja state at N1,350 while the lowest was recorded in Benue state at N800.64.
It also showed that the highest average price of 1kg of Beef boneless, was recorded in Abuja at N4,000, while the lowest was recorded in Gombe State at N2,639.
The NBS further clarified that in terms of the average price of 1kg of Beans brown (sold loose), Akwa-Ibom State consumers paid the highest price at N 1,466.67, while their Adamawa State counterparts bought at the least price of N677.23.
This is even as Rivers State buyers paid the highest average price of 1kg of Onion bulb at N 1,454.09, while the lowest price of the commodity was recorded in Zamfara at N435.71.
The Bureau reported that the highest average price of 1kg of Tomato was recorded in Delta at N1,474.79, while the least average price was recorded in Kano at N422.7
