Economy
How Prices of Rice, Beans, Garri, Yam, Others Rose in February
By Adedapo Adesanya
The cost of buying rice, beans, beef, garri, yam, and bread as well as other food items increased in February 2024, showing that Nigerians continue to face rising food inflation, according to the latest data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
It said this in its Selected Food Prices Watch report for February 2024 released in Abuja over the weekend.
The report said that the average price of 1kg of local rice increased by 134.81 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N520.84 recorded in February 2023 to N1,222.97 in February 2024.
“On a month-on-month basis, 1kg of local rice increased by 19.69 per cent from the N1,021.79 recorded in January 2024,” the agency stated.
The data also showed that the average price of 1kg of brown beans increased by 98.25 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N594.15 in February 2023 to N1,177.93 in February 2024.
“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 20.62 per cent from the N976.58 recorded in January 2024,” it further said.
For the average price of 1kg of boneless beef increased by 49.41 per cent from N2,445.96 recorded in February 2023 to N3,654.56 in February 2024.
“On a month-on-month basis, 1kg of boneless beef increased by 10.22 per cent in February from the N3,315.78 recorded in January 2024,’’ the report said.
The NBS said the average price of 1kg of onion bulb rose by 103.44 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N450.07 in February 2023 to 915.61 in February 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 3.91 per cent from N881.20 recorded in January 2024.’
The report said that the average price of 1kg of white garri increased by 109.16 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N345.88 in February 2023 to N723.45 in February 2024, and on a month-on-month basis, 1kg of white garri increased by 20.44 per cent from N600.69 recorded in January 2024 to N723.45 in February 2024.
In addition, the average price of 1kg of yam tuber rose by 131.33 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N436.41 recorded in February 2023 to N1009.56 in February 2024, while on a month-on-month basis, it increased by 11.93 per cent from N901.94 recorded in January 2024 to N1009.56 in February 2024.
The report said the average price of 500g sliced bread increased by 89.48 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the N553.03 recorded in February 2023 to N1,047.86 in February 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, 500g sliced bread increased by 15.91 per cent from the N904.02 recorded in January 2024.
The report showed that in February 2024, the highest average price of 1kg of boneless beef was recorded in Abia State at N4,595.69, while the lowest was recorded in Kogi State at N2,680.03.
It said that Niger State recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N1,670.96, while the lowest was recorded in Borno State at N936.14.
The NBS said that the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans was recorded in Nasarawa State at N 1,500.17, while the lowest price was recorded in Sokoto State at N734.48
It said the highest average price of 1kg of onion bulb was recorded in Akwa Ibom State at N1,391.41 while the lowest was recorded in Zamfara State at N446.67.
According to the report, Ogun State recorded the highest average price of 1kg of white garri at N821.48, while the lowest was reported in Benue State at N480.32.
It said Bayelsa State recorded the highest average price of 1kg of yam tuber at N1,452.95, while the lowest average price was recorded in Borno State at N 626.59.
The NBS said Rivers State recorded the highest average price of 500g sliced bread at N1,562.5, while the lowest price was recorded in Borno State at N655.53.
Analysis by zone showed that the average price of 1kg of boneless beef was highest in the South-east at N4,483.78, followed by the South-west at N3,740.72 while the lowest price was recorded in the North-west at N3,315.50.
The South-west and North-central recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N1,336.79 and N1,319.95 respectively, while the lowest price was in the North-West at N1,073.92.
The report said that the South-south recorded the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans at N1,395.23, followed by the South-east at N1,384.72, while the North-central recorded the lowest price at N638.88.
It said that the South-south and South-west recorded the highest average price of 1kg of onion bulb at N1,363.66 and N1,047.61, respectively, while the lowest was recorded in the North-west at N546.79
The NBS also said that the South-east and South-south recorded the highest average price of 1kg of white garri at N788.28 and N760.23 and the North-central recorded the lowest price of 1kg of white garri at N638.88.”
The report said the South-south recorded the highest average price of 500g sliced bread, followed by the North-central and the North-east recorded the lowest average price of 500g sliced bread at N867.31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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