Price Of Local Rice, Garri, Others Double In One Year As Cost Of Living Worsens

The cost-of-living crisis has worsened in Nigeria as the average price of most staples and other food that served the average Nigerian household has doubled.

While the consumer price index was 26.72 per cent in September, food inflation rose to 30.64 per cent, as a result of fuel subsidy removal which affected the price of fuel and logistics.

Logistics has been a major reason identified by the Nigerian government for inflation.

A report on ‘Selected Food Price Watch for September 2023’ published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that the average price of 1kg of local rice sold increased by 60.59 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N471.42 in September 2022 to N757.06 in September 2023.

The price of garri which is a popular food consumed by Nigerian households rose by 51.09 per cent from N309.69 in September 2022 to N467.89 in September 2023.

Another food item that is commonly consumed by families is beans. The NBS said the average price of 1kg of beans rose by 28.76 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N556.81 in September 2022 to N716.97 in September 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, the price of beans jumped by 3.47 per cent from N692.95 in August 2023 to N716.97 sold in September 2023.

The average price of 1kg of yam tuber also increased by 45.11 per cent in one year, from N409.23 in September 2022 to N593.83 in September 2023.

One loaf of bread which was sold N511.7 in September 2022 now cost an average of N708.36.

The price of 1kg of onion bulb also rose by 29.81 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N397.18 in September 2022 to N515.59 in September 2023.

Wheat flour which is used as input by bakers also saw a 55.1 per cent increase in the average price from N1121.28 in September 2022 to N1,515.88 in September 2023.

Meat became more expensive as its average price rose by 28.08 per cent from N2,199.37 in September 2022 to N2,816.9 in September 2023.