Food Inflation Hits 17.38% As Price Of Fish, Potatoes, Others Soars-NBS

Nigeria’s food inflation has quickened more than expected as food prices have jumped to 17.38 per cent in October, from the  16.66 per cent recorded in September this year.

The National Bureau of Statistics confirmed this on Monday in its Consumer Price Index report for October.

The rise is hinged on over a year long border closure and dollar restriction for the import of food, including maize and fertilizer imports.

The Consumer Price Index which measures inflation increased by 14.23 per cent, representing a 0.52 per cent rise from the 13.71 per cent recorded in September this year.

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose over the last three months hitting 13.22 in August, 13.71 per cent in September and most recently  14.23 per cent in October all principally driven by food prices.

The jump in October inflation comes despite the unexpectedly cut in interest rate by 100 basis points in September by the Central Bank of Nigeria to 11.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent, on the grounds that traditional monetary policy tools may not help the country’s rising inflation.

Driven by food prices, food inflation rose by 17.38 per cent in October, a jump from the  16.66 per cent in September 2020.

The NBS said the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, fruits, vegetable, alcoholic and food beverages and oils and fats.

The bureau said the core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 11.14 per cent in October 2020, up by 0.56 per cent when compared with 10.58 per cent recorded in September 2020.

Nigeria’s statistics body also said urban inflation jumped 14.81 per cent, a rise from the 14.31 per cent recorded  last September.

The NBS further noted that rural inflation rate increased by 13.68 percent in October 2020, from the 13.14 percent in September this year.