The price of rice, onions, yam, cooking gas, and pasta increased in November compared to the previous month as traders across markets in Lagos State complained of low patronage despite the yuletide season just around the corner.
This is according to the latest market survey, carried out across major markets in Lagos by Nairalytics, the research arm of Nairametrics.
Highlights
According to the report, the price of a 10kg bag of Mama Gold rice increased by 3.28% to sell for an average of N6,300 compared to N6,100 recorded in the previous month, while the price of a big bag of dry onions increased by 2.31% to sell for an average of N59,000.
The recent increase in the price of food items has been attributed to seasonal fluctuations as well as limited supply in the market, which is overwhelmed by customer demand. However, traders have also complained about the decline in sales turnover, attributing it to the dwindling purchasing power of average Nigerians.
While the price of major food items like onions, yam, and pasta recorded a marginal increase in the review period, some other food items such as garri, beans recorded price decline compared to the previous month.
The price of a big bag of Ijebu garri decreased by 10% to sell for an average of N13,500 compared to N15,000 recorded in the previous month. Note that it was sold for N25,000 earlier in the year. Also, a big of yellow garri that was initially sold for an average of N14,800 now sells for N13,600, representing an 8.15% decrease in price.
Graph: Based on Nairalytics Field survey
What NBS data is saying
Nigeria’s inflation rate for the month of October 2021, trickled down to 15.99% from 16.63% recorded in the previous month, driven by the decline in the two components of the index. The core inflation dropped to 13.24% compared to 13.74% recorded in September, while food inflation moved downwards to 18.34% as opposed to 19.57% in the previous month.
According to the consumer price index report by the NBS, the 18.34% year-on-year rise in the food index was caused by increases in the price of coffee, tea and cocoa, milk, cheese and eggs, bread and cereals, vegetables and potatoes, yam, and other tubers.
It is worth noting that Lagos State recorded one of the lowest month-on-month inflation rate in the month of October, with a 0.77% increase compared to September 2021. Top on the list were, Kebbi, Yobe, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, and Gombe.
A further look at the price breakdown of the NBS report shows Irish Potatoes increased by 2.57% month-on-month to sell for an average of N368 in October 2021, followed by a bottle of palm oil which increased by 2.5% in the review period to sell for an average of N727.
The price of an onion bulb also increased by 2.38% to sell for an average of N306, unsliced bread by 2.18% to N360. Notably, the price of a yam tuber increased by 2.01% to sell for an average of N313. It is worth noting that, amongst the 43 food items monitored by the National Bureau only six of them recorded a month-on-month decrease in price. The items include white garri, beans, yellow garri, sliced bread, mudfish, and Titus fish.
Special items
- Yam
The price of yam continues to sell at a high rate, despite the marginal decrease recorded in the recent month. The surge in the price of yam tubers was attributed to a delay in the supply of new orders placed by traders to their suppliers.
This was as claimed by a yam seller at the Oyingbo market in Lagos who said that the insecurity crises in the northern part of the country, specifically Abuja and Plateau where she buys from, have contributed to the delay, which in turn has affected the price.
- Beans
The price of a bag of brown beans continued to fall in the market from its previous high of about N100,000. In a conversation on the recent decline in the price of beans with a trader at the Oyingbo market, she clarified that the supply bottlenecks which drove prices high in the past months have trickled down and the supply time lag has improved in recent times.
Mr James a trader in the mile 12 market remarked that the initial issues surrounding the supply of beans which led to the increase in its prices are beginning to ease up as supply is becoming more frequent than what was recorded in previous months.
- Onions
Onions still saw its prices on the high side and according to Mallam Abdul a trader in the market, onions is still not in season and due to shortage in supply, the prices are increasing. He however said that as soon as it is harvest period, prices should be favourable.
Market insight
From the latest market survey conducted by the Nairametrics research team, there was mixed movement in the prices of food items as some products witnessed a slight decrease in their prices while others continue to increase.
The general feel from the traders’ responses showed dissatisfaction in terms of the level of patronage, which has been greatly affected by the continuous drop in the purchasing power of consumers, insecurity crises in the country, among other bottlenecks.
About Nairametrics Food Price Survey
Nairametrics Food Price Survey is a bi-monthly household market survey that covers the prices of major food items in Nigeria, with emphasis on five major markets in Lagos – Mushin market, Daleko market, Oyingbo market, Idi-Oro market, and Mile 12 market.
