Quick Take: Food inflation rises to 23.7% as floods destroy farmlands

Nigeria’s food inflation rate has risen to 23.72% on a year-on-year basis, marking a 5.39% increase compared to the rate recorded in October 2021 (18.34%).

This is according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for October released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The increase was driven by a significant hike in the prices of essential food items. Part of the report said:

“The rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Food products n.e.c, Potatoes, yams and other tubers, oil and fat. The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending October 2022 was 19.83%, which was a 0.92% points decline from the average annual rate of change recorded in October 2021 (20.75%).”

The context: The increase in inflation rate is coming on the backdrop of nationwide floods which ravaged 400,000 hectares of farmlands. Analysts predicted that the damage could push food prices up.

Recall that Nairmetrics reported last month that the federal government had distributed relief in 21 states so far. Unfortunately, casualties have risen to 612 Nigerians, with 392,399 hectares of farmlands damaged.

The NBS added that headline inflation for October 2022 was 21.09%, having accelerated from 20.77% in September 2022.