Inflation in Nigeria Rise 17.33% as Food Index Jumps 21.79%

By Dipo Olowookere

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday announced that inflation in Nigeria increased by 17.33 per cent year-on-year in February 2021.

In the previous month, January 2021, the inflation was put at 16.47 per cent, indicating that the figures last month were higher than the preceding month by 0.86 per cent.

Since the federal government abruptly shut down the nation’s land borders on August 20, 2019, prices of food items have continued to increase.

Things became worse when the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption in the food supply chain as the federal government restricted movements in the country.

Also, flood and insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria, where most of the food items are grown, forced farmers to stay away from their farms. This caused a shortage in food supply and trigger a hike in food prices at the market.

Last December, the federal government announced the reopening of four of the land borders in preparation for the commencement of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on January 1, 2021.

However, despite the reopening of four of the key land borders, the food supply chain has thin, having little effect on the prices of commodities at the market.

In the report released today, the stats offices said the food index, which is the major component of the consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation, increased last month by 21.79 per cent as against 20.57 per cent in January 2021.

The NSE explained that the rise in the food index was mainly caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals; potatoes, yam and other tubers; meat, food products; fruits; vegetable; fish; and oils and fats.

The agency noted that food inflation was high4est in February 2021 on a year-on-year basis in Kogi (30.47 per cent), Ebonyi (25.73 per cent) and Sokoto (25.68 per cent), while Gombe (19.32 per cent), Bauchi (18.74 per cent) and Akwa Ibom (18.70 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.

For the headline inflation last month, it was highest in Kogi (24.73 per cent), Bauchi (22.92 per cent) and Ebonyi (20.45 per cent), while Enugu (14.73 per cent), Kwara (14.25 per cent) and Cross River (12.97 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.

The NBS further said the urban inflation rate increased by 17.92 per cent (year-on-year) in February 2021 from 17.03 per cent in January 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 16.77 per cent in February 2021 from 15.92 per cent in January 2021.