Nigerians express worry as price of rice, garri, tomato increases again

A new report by the National Bureau of Statistics has shown an increase in the price of various food items in Nigeria.

The NBS data was sampled from 10,000 respondents and locations in 774 local governments across all the States and the FCT.

The average cost of rice, garri and tomato

According to Selected Food Price Watch, the average cost of one kilogram of locally marketed loose rice in April 2024 was N1,399.34. This shows that the price increased by 155.93% year over year from 546.76 in April 2023 and 3.47% month over month from N1,340.74 in March 2024.

Between April of last year (2023) and April of this year (2024), the average price of 1 kg of loose Garri white grew by 134.98% annually. The average monthly cost of this item went up from N749.89 in March 2024 to N747.89, a 13.59% rise.

In April 2024, the average cost of a kilogram of tomatoes increased by 131.58% compared to the same month the previous year, from N485.10 to N1,123.41. It grew by 17.06% month over month from N959.68 in March 2024.

Highest, lowest food by state

According to the state profile research conducted in April 2024, Niger state had the highest average price of N1,785.47 for 1 kilogram of locally marketed loose rice, while Benue state recorded the lowest price at N993.72.

Benue State recorded the lowest average price, N494.47, for a kilogram of loose Garri white, while Bayelsa recorded the highest, N1,095.26.

Regarding the average cost of a kilogram of tomatoes, Zamfara had the lowest price at N547.22, while Delta state had the highest price at N1,851.19.

Yobe had the lowest average price of N818.03 for 1 kg of brown beans (sold loose), while Abuja had the highest average price of N2,288.36.

Average price across regions

Also, analysis by zone showed that the average price of 1kg of local rice sold loose was highest in the South-west at N1,615.21, followed by the South-South at N1,564.85, while the North-West recorded the lowest average price at N1,163.13.

The average price of 1kg of Garri white was highest in the South-south and the South-west at N1,031.19 and N 982.42, respectively, while the lowest was recorded in the North-West at N 681.77.

The South-south recorded the highest average price of 1kg of Tomato at N1,689.40, followed by the South-west at N1,429.06, while the lowest was recorded in the North-west with N615.54.

The North Central and South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans (sold loose), at N1,594.84 and N1,579.64, respectively, while the lowest was recorded in the North West, at N 966.90.

Nigerians react

A survey carried out by Legit.ng revealed that Nigerians are unhappy about the incessant increase in the cost of food items.

Ahmed Auwal, a retail trader, lamented the situation and how Nigerians are losing hope in the government as things continue to go bad.

He said: “Things have continued to go from bad to worse lately. We don't even know what tomorrow holds. Today you buy things at a certain price and the next minute there is an increase.”

Chris Uba said: “At this point, we can only pray and hope for a better tomorrow because with the way food prices are increasing without salary/wage increase, it is noit fair to the average nigeria.”

Ten staple foods and their average prices in April 2024:

Tomato (1kg) - N1,123.41

Rice (1kg) - N1,399.34

Beans (1kg) - N1,387.90

Yam - (1kg) N1,130

Onion bulb (1kg) - N1,018

Beef (1kg) - N4711.65

Bread slice (1 loaf) - N1,141.36

Palm oil (1 litre) - N1,634.05

Wheat flour (2 kg) - N2,573.25

Garri (1kg) - N851.81