Top 10 states with highest cost of food as bread, fish, eggs others get more expensive

Life is getting tougher for Nigerian households, and it is a daily struggle to feed across the country.

The situation is even worse for residents of 10 states amid soaring prices of essential food items in 10 consecutive months of 2023.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, show that the Food inflation rate in October 2023 was 31.52% on a year-on-year basis.

This is 7.80% points higher compared to the rate recorded in October 2022 (23.72%).

Food inflation

Increases in bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs caused the rise in food inflation year-on-year.

The food inflation rate in October 2023 was 1.91% on a month-on-month basis, Punch reports.

The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending October 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was 26.33%.

This was a 6.50% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in October 2022 (19.83%).

Expert reacts

Speaking on the inflation figure, Muda Yusuf, the chief executive officer of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the critical inflation drivers, including food items, are not receding.

He again called on the government to introduce policies to drive local production.

His words: "Key drivers of inflation have not really abated, that is, factors of the foreign exchange rate depreciation; factor of increasing energy cost; increasing transportation cost and also the factor of challenges of trade, that is, clearing cargoes at the ports and high import tariffs, rising inflation will remain a challenge.

"It will be very difficult to tame inflation if we do not fix power, logistics and forex."