Food commodities record price surge in October, NBS reports

By Onome Amuge

The average price of a number of selected food items in Nigeria increased in October 2022, according to the Food Prices Watch recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report showed that the average price of 1kg onion bulb was up 32.6 percent year-on-year to N405.72. It was also 2.2 percent higher month-on-month compared to September 2022.

Similarly, 1kg of local rice climbed 17.5 percent to N487.5 in the 12 months to October 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the average price of the staple rose by 3.40 percent in October 2022.

According to the NBS, the average price of 1kg of tomato rose on an annual basis, jumping 30.8 percent from N454.5 and by 2.10 percent compared to the previous month of September.

The average price of 1kg of beans increased 18 percent year-on-year at N564.7, while a bottle of palm oil was up 33.2 percent from N727.21 in October 2021 to N968.76 in October 2022. The price also rose by 4.5 percent on a month-on-month basis.

Meanwhile, the average price of a bottle of vegetable oil stood at N1,106.08 in October 2022, an increase of 34 percent compared to October 2021. It also rose by 2.81 percent on a month-on-month basis.

At the state level, Rivers recorded the highest average price of local rice, as 1kg sold for N630.66, while Jigawa posted the lowest at N381.54 per kg. Ebonyi recorded the highest average price of beans (brown) as 1kg sold for N848.74. On the other hand, Plateau recorded the lowest valuation for the same commodity which sold at N360.03 per kg.

Abia recorded the highest price of vegetable oil, with a bottle sold for N1,484.31, while Benue recorded the lowest at N650.89 per bottle.

On a regional basis, the report showed that the average price of 1kg onion bulb was highest in the South-South and South-East at N670.63 and N538.31, respectively, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-East at N212.83 per kg.

The South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N545.03, followed by the South-West at N519.53 per kg, while the lowest price was recorded in the North-West at N435.06.

A bottle of palm oil was sold at the highest average rate in the South-East at N1,101.04, followed by the South West at N1,096.17, while the North-Central recorded the lowest price at N742.62 per bottle.