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Food prices in Nigeria rise by 31%— Report

Published

1 year ago

September 28, 2023

An analysis by Nigeria’s official data source, NBS on “Selected Food Price Watch” has revealed that food prices rose to as high as 31 per cent within 12 months, from July 2022 to July 2023.

Food staples like rice (1 kg), beans (1 kg), bread (500 g), tomatoes, beef, wheat (2 kg), garri (1 kg), and palm oil (1 bottle) are among the items chosen.

The National Bureau of Statistics in the report, published on a monthly basis, said subnational units, Ebonyi and Abia states led the chart on the regions with the highest hike.

According to the reports, the price of yam increased by 42%, from N389.75 in July 2022 to N539.41 in 2023, representing the highest food price increase ever, while the cost of a kilo of rice increased from N467.80 to N653.49 within a year.

The price of palm oil also scaled by 35%, from N890.67 to N1208.62 during the period in review. Other staple foods which contributed to the food price hike included Garri (1kg), which increased by 33%, from N323.17 to N429. 89. 500g of sliced bread also increased from N486.27 to N651.78 (+34%).

A kilogram of tomato (N446.81 to N557.96), Wheat (2kg) (N1094.72 to N1419.14), and Beef (N2118.84 to N2758.13), also accounted for some of the staple food items which recorded significant price spikes.

The hike in food prices is consistent with the inflationary situation of the country. Earlier in the month, the NBS revealed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 25.80% in August and 24.08% in July, which is an increase of 1.72% points when compared to the July 2023 headline inflation rate. Food inflation rate spiked to 29.34%, up 2.35% points from the previous month’s reading of 26.98% and 6.22% points from the reading of 23.12% for the same time in 2022.

The sharp increase in food prices has been attributed to the decline in the official exchange rate as well as the effects on consumer costs of the abolition of petrol subsidies.

The two policies continue to have harsh effects on Nigerians as shown by the inflation rates, despite praise from some economists and multilateral organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Related Topics:Featured fOOD PRICE inflation Nigeria

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

3 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.