Price of rice increases by 60.59% in one year as transport fares rise by 117.29%

As the festive season approaches, procuring 1kg bag of rice may become a tall order for an average Nigerian family due to its rising cost. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the average price of 1kg of rice locally sold increased by 60.59 per cent over the last one year jumping from N471.42 in September 2022 to N757.06 in September 2023.

The NBS in its Selected Food Prices Watch for September 2023 released yesterday showed that on a month-on-month basis, the average price of rice increased by 2.48 per cent from N738.74 in August 2023.

The report also showed that the average price of 1kg of beef boneless stood at N2, 816.91. This indicated a 28.08 per cent rise in price on a year-on-year basis from N2, 199.37 recorded in September 2022 and 0.62 per cent rise in price on a month-on-month basis from N2, 799.51 in August 2023.

The price of 1kg of brown beans (sold loose) also rose by 28.76 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N556.81 in September 2022 to N716.97 in September 2023. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 3.47 percent from N692.95 in August 2023.

The NBS had earlier reported that the food inflation for the month of September 2023 was 30.64 per cent. In a related development, NBS in its Transport Fare Watch for September 2023, report that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 117.29 per cent from N615.69 in September 2022 to N1, 337.80 in September 2023.

On a month-on-month basis the fare increased by 0.11 per cent from N1, 336.38 in August. In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose by 56.12 per cent from N3, 790.06 in September 2022. It, however, declined by 0.02 per cent on a month-on-month basis to N5, 917.16 in September 2023, compared to N5, 918.18 in August 2023.

The report said: “On a year-on-year basis, the fare In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey was N79, 013.48 in September 2023, showing no significant differences in the fare paid in the previous month. However, on a year-on -year basis, the fare rose by 8.70 per cent from N72, 690.54 in September 2022.