Many Nigerians are having to ration their spending during this Christmas season due to high consumer costs across the country. This is according to a field survey across some markets in Lagos and Ogun.
Since February 2016, Nigeria has been grappling with a double-digit inflation rate which worsened to a 17-year high of 21.47% in November, according to official stats. And this high inflation rate is inevitably impacting negatively on household spending this Christmas.
Everything is expensive, from energy costs to transportation, food, clothes, etc. These are all essential goods and services Nigerians need to spend on in order to have a merry Christmas. It is, therefore, not surprising that many Nigerians are rationing their expenses given the economic realities in the country.
More details on the increase: Last year Christmas, a 50kg bag of rice was selling for an average of N29,500. Right now, it is now selling for a minimum of N38,500 and as high as N42,000.
In the same vein, the price of chicken, turkey, groundnut oil, onions and other food items that makes the popular Christmas Jollof a worthwhile meal have also surged in recent times. Nairametrics visited some markets in Lagos and Ogun State, and responses from traders and customers indicate slow trading activities compared to previous festive periods, largely attributed to price increases.
Nigerians left to ration: In a conversation with Mrs Eniola at Balogun Market, in Lagos Island, she lamented about the surge in the price of food items. She had earmarked N100,000 to buy food and groceries for Christmas, unfortunately, after buying half a carton of chicken and a 25kg bag of rice, she barely has enough to go by.
- “I came to the market to buy foodstuffs and I am utterly confused about what to buy because my budget is largely inadequate for what I intend to buy,” she lamented.
Mrs Eniola is faced with the dilemma of deciding whether to reduce the quantity of the items she wants to buy or request extra funds from her husband, who is insistent on only parting with N100,000 this Christmas for food.
On the other hand, she is expecting some family and friends this Christmas, with an estimation of at least 20 people visiting them on Christmas day. This means that the reduction of groceries could be a bad idea.
- “It appears we do not have a lot of options at the moment in Nigeria, there is high inflation, and there is also the need to celebrate, it is indeed a dilemma,” she said in a low tone.
On another visit to Sango Market in Ogun State, the Nairametrics team met with Madam Suzanne a widowed secondary schoolteacher who wants Christmas clothes for her three children with a budget of N50,000.
- Madam Suzanne has two boys of age 15 and 11 years respectively and a daughter of 13 years. She wishes to buy them beautiful Christmas clothes from the money she had been saving from the beginning of the year.
- According to her, the new clothes will put smiles on the faces of the kids, as she had not bought any clothing for the children so far in the year.
- Unfortunately, Mrs Suzanne soon understood that her N50,000 could not afford her the clothes she desired for the three kids unless she compromises.
- A pair of jean trousers for the boys is currently priced at N12,000 and a shirt around N8,000. This implies that the two boys’ clothing has gulped a sum of N40,000, leaving N10,000 for the daughter whose beautiful gown is priced at N12,000.
- She is yet to factor in the price of footwear, she believes the kids can wear the ones they had from last year. Now she needs to decide on either choosing clothing of lesser quality in other to avoid overshooting her budget or having an alternative foregone.
- The latter is a missile she definitely won’t entertain. How is she going to tell any of the kids that he/she won’t be getting Christmas clothes? The agonising thought of how inflation has impacted her ability to make decisions filled her with pain and again regretted not having her husband by her side.
Haggling and complaints: Visiting the popular food-hub market in Mile-12 in Lagos, the Nairametrics team could hear price negotiations between traders and consumers, many of which ended in groaning and complaints.
The prices of food items have gone up significantly, making it impossible for average Nigerians to buy foodstuff in large quantities, except for the few who came with their jeep, an indication of a deep pocket.
Joy, a consumer at the market explained to Nairametrics how she would have to improvise with her cooking this Christmas, seeing that she is unable to buy some of the things she would normally cook during the Christmas celebration.
- “I will have to reconsider what I would be cooking. I normally would make pounded yam during Christmas, because my husband loves it, however, I might have to consider some other cassava products that feel like pounded yam, as I cannot afford to buy yam or pounded yam either,” she said.
Traders also lamented poor sales during this period compared to previous years. Paul, a grocery store owner, said:
- “Yes, people are coming into the market but unfortunately they are only buying in smaller quantities compared to what we witness in Nigeria’s typical Christmas season.”
He added that usually, we would see people moving around with live chicken for their Christmas celebration, basically a trademark for the season. However, Nigerians have had to consider buying frozen foods, fish, and other forms of protein as a substitute for live chicken considering that the price has surged to undesirable levels.
Why this matter: Nigeria’s inflationary pressure has hit levels only seen 17 years ago, exacerbated by the depreciation of the local currency, surge in energy prices and by extension on transportation costs, low investment yield, and harsh business environment to state a few.
- The high inflation has hence influenced the buying habit of average Nigerians, forcing them to ration their spending during the Christmas period. Unfortunately, the swift eroding of the purchasing power of the people could have a ripple effect on many areas of the economy.
- This could affect the number of people who would go to the cinemas during this period, entertainment shows, and dates amongst others as many could be better off enjoying Christmas at home rather than spending more at events.
