Price Of Garri, Yam, ‘Akpu’ Tops Food Inflation Chat – NBS Reports

The March edition of the Consumer Price Indices Report, published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), highlights a significant surge in the prices of essential food items such as Garri, yam, and ‘Akpu’.

This alarming trend has rendered staple foods unaffordable for a considerable number of individuals in Nigeria.

The NBS report, released on Monday, sheds light on the concerning increase in food prices during the month of March.

The bureau said on food inflation: “The food inflation rate in March 2024 was 40.01 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.56 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2023 (24.45 per cent).

“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following per cent items:

“Gari, millet, Akpu uncooked fermented (which are under the bread and cereals class), yam tuber, water yam (under potatoes, yam, and other tubers class), dried fish sardine, and mudfish dried (under Fish class).

“Palm oil, vegetable oil (under Oil and Fat), beef feet, beef head, liver (under meat class), coconut, watermelon (under Fruit Class), Lipton tea, Bournvita, Milo (under coffee, tea, and cocoa class).”

Upon further examination of the report, it was revealed that Southern states, particularly Abia and Cross River, experienced the highest food price increases on a Month-on-Month basis.

Conversely, states in the North East, such as Borno and Yobe, had the lowest food inflation rates during that period.

“On a Month-on-Month basis, however, March 2024 Food inflation was highest in Abia (5.17 percent), Cross River (5.14 percent), Bayelsa (4.75 percent), while Borno (1.59 percent), Yobe (2.08 percent) and Adamawa (2.12 percent) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on Month-on-Month basis,” the report added.