Economy
Prices of Rice, Tomato, Beans, Garri, Others Drop in June
By Adedapo Adesanya
The prices of major food commodity declined across the states in Nigeria in the month of June 2019, compared with what was recorded in the month of May, a report released few days ago by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.
In the report, which sampled some selected food items, it was discovered that the price of 1kg worth of tomato decreased by 9.40 percent to N226.07 in the month of June from N249.52 in May.
According to the data analysed by Business Post, prices of the various categories of rice sampled all dropped. For example, price of the medium rice suffered the heaviest drop of 2.80 percent to sell at an average N308/kg in the month of June followed by the local Rice which went down by 2.57 percent from the previous month to sell at an average of N271/kg. Other categories of the grain product, the Ofada rice saw a 1.13 percent drop to sell at N373.5 (per kg) while the agric rice fell by 1.03 percent in June to N318.25/kg.
Another major food commodity that saw a large drop in prices (per kg) was beans. The brown beans dropped by 6.16 percent to N342.62 in the month under review, while the white beans also recorded a price reduction of 5.54 percent to sell for an average of N311 per kg.
Yam, according to the NBS Data, recorded the largest fall in prices of selected food commodities in the sixth month of the year, as the price went down by a whopping 15.68 percent to go for as low as N182 per kg.
The yellow and white garri also saw double-digit decrease as both fell by 13.68 and 10.05 percent respectively to N156 and N145 per kg apiece.
Also, fish saw drop in prices between 0.91 – 3 percent on all the various types of the commodity studied. Frozen Titus fish went down by 0.91 percent to sell at N940/kg. Smoked catfish depreciated by 1.49 percent last month to N1530 per kilo. The price of frozen mackerel reduced by 1.7 percent to N925 per kg.
Bread, one of the major end products of flour, also recorded changes in both categories of the commodity studied (sliced and unsliced 500g). Sliced bread recorded a change of 1.53 percent from the price quoted in May to drop to N292.73 per loaf. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case with the latter (unsliced) as prices went up by 0.88% percent to sell at a quoted N274.49.
Benue state, the food basket of the nation, saw the highest price range of beef (bone in) as price went as high as N1244 in the state, but the average price (per kg) for the animal produce across the nation was N1003, with an almost 2 percent change in price from the previous month. Boneless beef, on the other hand, recorded a higher drop of 2.3 percent to sell at an average price of N1240.
Dairy products like chicken, eggs, and milk were also studied and from the analysis, the price of chicken feet and wings both decreased by 4.69 percent and 3.06 percent to N693 and N905 per kilogram respectively while frozen chicken went up by 3 percent to as high as N1750/kg.
A dozen of egg also went up by 6.6 percent to go for N495 but the medium price of a single piece of the dairy product of N39 saw an 8.20 percent drop, according to the statistical report. The price of evaporated milk likewise dropped by almost 4 percent to go for almost N157 per unit.
Onions, Maize grain, oil, plantain, were also some of the food commodities that recorded various decrease in prices in the month of June 2019.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
