Economy
New Survey Details Nigeria’s Struggles with Soaring Prices
The economic landscape in Nigeria is undergoing significant strain as the cost of living skyrockets, impacting millions across the nation, according to a recent report titled The Price of Everything, an elaborate price survey by SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market intel gathering and strategic consulting firm.
The report sheds light on the alarming trend of escalating prices for essential goods and commodities, breaking down the picture of the country’s economic woes.
Over the past year, prices for everyday items have more than doubled, severely eroding the purchasing power of the middle class. The survey, conducted between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, reveals staggering price hikes across a wide range of consumer goods, from food and drinks to personal care products.
One of the most striking findings of the report is the exponential increase in the prices of key items. For instance, Dudu Osun, a popular black soap, witnessed a jaw-dropping 180% price surge, while Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, experienced a 160.9% hike, attributed to the removal of fuel subsidies. These price spikes have had a cascading effect on other goods and services, exacerbating the already dire situation.
The impact of inflation is felt acutely in the food sector, where staple items like rice, noodles, and tomatoes have seen triple-digit increases, with a 50kg bag of foreign rice skyrocketing from N42,000 to N77,000 within a year, marking an 83% increase. Similarly, the price of Indomie Super Pack noodles surged by over 100%. A loaf of bread went from N800 in Q1 2023 to N1,450 in Q1 2024. Even a 50cl PET bottle of Coca-Cola has doubled from N200 in Q1 2023 to N400 in Q1 2024.
Enjoying a drink with friends over a Super Sunday clash is slowly becoming a luxury. A bottle of Guinness Stout has increased from N700 to N1,500, marking a massive 114% increase. Similarly, a bottle of Star beer, which was priced at N700 last year, now sells for N1,200, representing a 71% increase. Even the electricity sector has not been spared, seeing a 160% increase over the period of Q1 2023 to Q1 2024.
Despite the current situation, it appears that price increases in the entertainment industry have lagged behind those in other segments of the economy.
Cable TV providers, such as DStv, for example, have only seen a price hike of approximately 39.95%, compared to that of other essential commodities.
Discussing these insights in an interview with CNBC Africa, Ikemesit Effiong, Partner at SBM Intelligence, highlighted the impact of various factors on inflation trends in Nigeria.
“With entertainment, what you see is that growth has generally lagged. The greatest increase we saw when we put together this report was the 45.1% increase in the price of a Startimes package. A lot of the DStv and GOtv Bouquets have been within 30%. The story is of a slower increment which, when you overlay that on top of all the other pending priorities that consumers have, it probably is a bit of a comfort chain,” he said.
Still, the economic challenges are dire, and calls for government intervention have grown. Stabilising the exchange rate and implementing holistic strategies to address the root causes of inflation are seen as crucial steps to alleviate the economic burden on Nigerians and foster long-term growth.
As the nation navigates through these turbulent times, the need for decisive action to tackle soaring prices and mitigate the adverse effects on livelihoods has never been more pressing.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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