How prices of rice, other cereals in Nigeria doubled in one year

How prices of rice, other cereals in Nigeria doubled in one year

The rates of widely eaten cereals and legumes rose by a average of 98 per cent in the last one year.The prices of major legumes and cereals in Nigeria rose at an average of about 98.85 and 99.9 per cents respectively in the last one year.

The prices of staples such as rice, beans, groundnut, soybeans, maize, sorghum, and millet were surveyed across some major markets located in different regions of the country. The prices of grains such as rice, maize, sorghum, and millet have risen by 44.4 and 117 per cents respectively.

Likewise, the survey showed that the prices of essential cowpeas such as beans and soybeans increased by 159.3 and 76.7 per cent, while prices of groundnuts rose by 63.64 per cent from what they were being sold for last year.

Nigeria’s food inflation reached 27 per cent in February 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, making it the highest since at least 2005.

The aftermath of the rise has been evident in the prices of all classes of food, as prices continue to skyrocket almost on a daily basis, leaving Nigeria’s large population of poor citizens struggling to get food and key ingredients for survival.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) latest Consumer Price Index report, which measures the prices of goods and services, said Nigeria’s inflation rate fell for the second consecutive month in May to 17.93 per cent from 18.12 per cent recorded a month earlier.

However, food inflation reached 22.28 per cent in May from 22.72 per cent recorded in April 2021, the NBS reported.

The NBS in its report noted that the rise in the food index as of May this year was caused by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, soft drinks, coffee, tea and cocoa, fruits, meat, oils and fats, and vegetables.

While inflationary pressures subsist, efforts to spur local food production by the Buhari-led administration in the bid to cut down on importation bills, and as well achieve food sufficiency have been majorly truncated by attacks on farms and farmers, forex scarcity, naira devaluation, and extreme climatic events, Covid-19 disruption, and challenges with importation due to border closure policy that lasted almost a year, causing food prices to steadily rise.

I lamenting about the spike in prices of these components being the necessary spices and vegetables required for the preparation of soups and other delicacies.

At Wuse market in Abuja, Baba Gombe, who sells these products confirmed to this newspaper that the prices of these items have gone up substantially.

He said he used to sell a full basket of pepper and tomatoes at the rate of N600-N700 early this year, but that they are now sold for N3000 per basket each because the bag of pepper and a full basket of tomatoes he used to buy at N7000 now sells for N27,000 per bag and baskets each.

For Onions, he said a basket is currently being sold for N1500 per basket, but that he was selling it at the rate of N600-N700 about two months ago.

Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes on display at the market

The trader said they usually experience a significant spike in the prices of the product in the rainy season of every year.

Due to the perishable nature of these products, Baba Gombe said he usually runs on huge losses, and that the increase in price has dwindled the purchasing powers of his customers.

” I have lost over N100,000 this past week, because when the tomatoes and peppers are going bad, I do sell them at cheaper prices as “Baje” to food sellers,” he said.

Another trader, Yunusa Mohammed, said the price of plantain is currently N3000 for a bunch but that it was sold for N2000 as of last year.

He said in 2020, six fingers of plantain were sold for N500, but four fingers are currently being sold for N500.

” The prices increased this year, plantain is also a seasonal food, it is not the season now so this must have affected the price of the food,”he said.

“For a country where almost 60% of household income was going to food before the coronavirus pandemic, a continuous increase in food prices poses a significant threat to livelihoods,” he said, continuing that “millions of people would eat less food to cope with the shock or spend less money on non-essential goods and services.”

Razaq Fatai,Policy and Advocacy Manager for ONE Campaign in African-American said the food inflation is driven by many factors, notably Covid-19 restrictions that disrupted food production systems and resulted in sharp currency depreciation that has increased imported food prices.

He explained that the rising insecurity in the country has displaced several food system actors, particularly producers and traders. Adding that the impact of climate change is negatively impacting farm-level productivity, as the incidence of drought and flood continue to undermine food production efforts.

Jimmy John-Mark, a veterinarian and farmer in Kaduna said the biggest trigger of the increase in the prices of food is insecurity, and that this has stopped farmers from carrying out farming activities and transportation of produce from the farm.“It has displaced farming communities and has put a strain on national supplies. The second is inflation. Fertilizer prices have gone up dramatically,” he said.

Wilson Erumebor, a senior economist at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), said despite the reopening of the land borders in December 2020, Nigerians continue to grapple with a surge in food inflation into the year 2021.Mr Erumebor stated that the rising food prices could be largely due to the increasing spate of insecurity which has constrained farming activities in the major food-producing regions of the country.

“Other drivers of food inflation include higher food import bill, fuel price hike and the attendant high transport costs across the country, as well as, pandemic-induced breakdown in global food supply chains,” he said.

The economist noted that on the domestic side, a higher fuel price resulted in an increase in transport costs, which has risen significantly with a negative impact on food prices.

He stated that despite the adverse impact of COVID-19 crisis on global supply chains, Nigeria’s food import bill grew by 133 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“Consequently, imported food inflation in Nigeria averaged 16.8% in the first five months of the year 2021, above its levels of 15.8% and 16.3% in 2019 and 2020, respectively,” he said.

Mr Erumebor said; “It is no news that the food component accounts for 51 per cent of Nigeria’s consumer price basket. With the prices of all essential food items rising simultaneously year-on-year in May 2021, the purchasing power of Nigerians are expected to reduce drastically as a result.”

“In summary, many Nigerians became poor last year due to inflation-induced shocks. Data from the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update confirm this assertion,” he added.

Just as predicted

A report published early this year by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Programme(WFP) had projected that about 13 million people will be victims of acute food insecurity across 15 states in northern Nigeria by August.

“Of the 13 million, 3.9 million are projected to be in the northeast and 5 million in the northwest, where there is little humanitarian presence,” the report detailed.

The report’s findings show a worsening food insecurity trend in the next lean season (June to August 2021), up from 9.2 million between October and December 2020 and 8.7 million in mid-2020.

This projection was contained in a 2021 report titled ‘Hunger hotspots. FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity: March to July 2021 outlook.’

According to the FAO-WFP, the report was meant to issue an early warning to 20 countries recognised as hotspots, where parts of the populations are at risk of acute food insecurity.

In Nigeria, the report highlighted that issues such as expanding revolt and inter-communal strife, which led to multiple displacements and destruction of livelihoods, will worsen the possibility of food security.

“The majority of people with critical food insecurity are in Borno State, as a result of heavy humanitarian access constraints and ongoing conflict. “Here, the localities of Abadam, Dikwa, Guzamala, Kukawa, and Marte, as well as other only-partially accessible garrison towns, remain of extreme concern. Should the situation deteriorate further, these areas may be at risk of famine.” The report partly reads.

“Yemen, South Sudan, and northern Nigeria represent the highest alert level with a risk of famine,” the report said.