New data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows Nigerians continue to pay more for food in the month of June 2023.
In the bureau’s June food price watch, prices of staple foods consumed every day by Nigerians increased from as low as 8% to as high as 12% on a month-to-month basis and from June 2022 to June 2023, Nigerians paid on average a 30% increase in food prices over the 12-month period.
Selected food price increase for June 2023
The survey included foods such as rice, beans, wheat, yam, tomato, beef, bread, veggies etc. The survey re-emphasizes how expensive feeding has become for individuals and households in Nigeria.
For example, the average cost of 1kg of boneless beef increased by 5.26% from N2,520.52 in May to N2,653.02 in June 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the average cost of the item increased by 27.55% from June 2022 to June 2023.
Rice- Nigeria’s major staple food saw its average price jump from N555.18 per kg in May to N608.20- an increase of 9.55% for the monthly.
Nigerians paid 32.17% more for a kilogram of rice in June 2023 than they did in June 2022 when the price was N460.17.
For tomatoes, the average price per kg rose by 24% from June 2022 to June 2023 to N547.28. On a month-on-month basis, the price of tomato per kg increased from N555.18 to N608.20- a 9.55% spike.
The average price of a 1kg tuber of yam surged by 32.85% from June 2022 to June 2023. It recorded an 11.70% increase from May to June 2023.
The average price for wheat flour per 2kg for June 2023 stood at N1380- a 28% jump from its price as of June 2022.
Optics.
Food prices have been on an upward trend in Nigeria over the past few years as inflation steadied at double digits. NBS reported Nigeria’s June inflation rate to be at 22.71%- the highest in about 18 years.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the average Nigerian reportedly spent around 56% of their income on food.
This contrasts what obtains in developed climes like the U.S, Canada, U.K etc spend just under 15% of their income on food.
With the new report from the NBS signalling an increase in food prices, the share of food bills in Nigerians’ expenditure is set to further increase which doesn’t bode well as income has remained stagnant for some time.
Recently, the administration of President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on agriculture and food security and moved it to a priority list in the National Security Council.
Part of the administration’s plan aims to address issues such as farm and farmer security, funding, utilisation of river basins for all year-round agriculture, creation of a commodity exchange board etc.
It remains to be seen how these plans are implemented.
