Nigerians will continue to pay more for food in the month of June 2023, according to new statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics.
In the bureau’s June food price watch, the cost of Nigerians’ daily staple foods jumped from 8% to 12% month over month. From June 2022 to June 2023, Nigerians paid an average increase of 30% in food prices over the course of a year.
Selected food price increase for June 2023
The poll covered items like beef, bread, rice, beans, wheat, yams, tomatoes, and other vegetables. The report highlights once more how expensive feeding has become for Nigerian people and households.
For instance, the average price of 1 kg of boneless beef rose from N2,520.52 in May to N2,653.02 in June 2023, an increase of 5.26%. From June 2022 to June 2023, the item’s average cost grew 27.55% year over year.
The average price of rice, a significant basic item in Nigeria, increased from N555.18 per kg in May to N608.20, a monthly rise of 9.55%.
In June 2023, Nigerians spent N321.7 more per kilogram of rice than they did in June 2022, when the cost was N460.17.
From June 2022 to June 2023, the average price per kg of tomatoes increased by 24% to N547.28. On a monthly basis, the cost of a kilogram of tomatoes rose from N555.18 to N608.20, an increase of 9.55%.
Between June 2022 and June 2023, the cost of a 1 kg tuber of yam increased by 32.85% on average. Between May and June 2023, it showed a growth of 11.70%.
The average cost of 2 kilograms of wheat flour in June 2023 was N1380, a 28% increase from the cost in June 2022.
As inflation remained stable at double digits over the previous few years, food costs in Nigeria have been on the rise. According to NBS, Nigeria’s June inflation rate was 22.71%, which is the highest level in almost 18 years.
According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, the average Nigerian spends about 56% of their salary on food.
In contrast, industrialized nations like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and others spend less than 15% of their revenue on food.
The NBS’s latest report indicating an increase in food costs means that a larger portion of Nigerians’ spending would go toward food, which is bad news given that their income has been stagnating for some time.
The National Security Council’s priority list for agriculture and food security was recently elevated by the Bola Tinubu administration, which also proclaimed a state of emergency.
The administration’s proposal includes measures to address concerns including funding, the use of river basins for year-round agriculture, the establishment of a commodity exchange board, and farm and farmer security.
It will be interesting to observe how these plans are carried out.
