Economy
Price of Foreign Rice Drops as Beans, Garri, Tomatoes Rise
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The average price of a kilogram (Kg) of rice (imported high quality sold loose) reduced from N557.98 in June to N552.80 in July 2021, indicating a 0.9 per cent drop.
Data on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Selected Food Prices Watch Report (July 2021), however, revealed that the average cost of the staple grain in the market increased year-on-year by 12.7 per cent as it went from N490.44 a year ago to N552.80 in the period under review.
The food crop similarly witnessed an average price increase in other variations of which it is largely produced across the country.
In the report, the average price of 1kg broken rice, popularly known as Ofada, increased by 1.1 per cent to N477.08 from N472.07 in June, while on a year-on-year basis, it rose by 11.9 per cent from N426.36.
It was disclosed that Lagos State recorded the highest increase in the average cost of 1kg Ofada rice at N844.13, while the lowest was in Nassarawa State at N270.46.
The stats office further said that Nigerians paid N456 to purchase 1kg of medium-grained rice, 1.9 per cent higher than N441.49 it was sold in June and 11.0 per cent higher than the price a year ago.
In Bayelsa State, residents bought the medium-grained rice at N602.57 per kg, the highest in the country, while the lowest price was paid by those living in Adamawa State at N288.67 per kg.
A look at the average price of brown beans in the period under consideration, it stood at N485.44/kg, 3.01 per cent more than N439.22 in June.
The grain recorded the highest average price in Enugu State at N896.32 per kg, while residents of Bauchi State bought it at an average price of N211.4 per kg, the lowest in the country.
Similarly, its alternative, white black-eyed Beans was sold for N444.21/kg, 2.9 per cent higher than N431.79 it was sold a month earlier, while people in Enugu bought the food item at N782.04/kg with residents of Bauchi paying N214.07 for the same measurement.
As for Nigeria’s most popular carbohydrate staple, Garri, the average price of its white variant went up by 1.5 per cent in July to N329.20 per kg from N324.26 per kg in June, with the lowest and highest average cost of the product recorded in Taraba (N208.4) and Ebonyi (N500.96) respectively.
The yellow Garri was relatively sold on average for N347.70 per kg, 2.6 per cent higher than the price a month earlier, while the highest average price stood at N540.47 in Ebonyi and the lowest at N216.28) in Kwara state.
NBS said in the report that the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased month-on-month by 7.4 per cent to N308.72 in July from N287.54 in June 2021 as Ekiti recorded the highest average price of N532.47 and the lowest in Taraba at N111.98.
As for its alternative, Irish potatoes, the average cost increased to N380.21 from N356.44 within the period as consumers bought it at the highest average price in Bayelsa at N837.24 and lowest in Plateau State at N154.76.
The food price report further said there was a 5.9 per cent rise in the average price of beef (boneless) to N1,660.76 per kg in July from N1,567.26 per kg in the previous month.
The highest average price was in Ebonyi at N2,416.8, while the lowest average cost was in Gombe State at N1,232.95.
According to the report, a litre of groundnut oil was sold on average for N768.81 in July, 5.5 per cent higher than the N728.43 it was sold in the preceding month. However, Kogi State recorded the lowest price at N495.8, while the highest was in Delta State at N1,222.96.
Similarly, the average price for palm oil rose by 4.3 per cent within the reference period from N609.21 per litre to N635.31 per litre in June 2021, while the highest price was in Lagos at N810 and the lowest price in Kwara at N406.67.
In the period under review, the price of 1kg of tomatoes significantly increased by 23.7 per cent to N414.83 from N335.46 in June. Given that tomato farming is predominantly done in the northern part of the country, Adamawa recorded the lowest average price of N102.41, while the highest was in Edo at N836.68.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, influenced by increasing demand in China, the world’s largest buyer, as well as developments in Europe and Syria, with Brent crude futures closing at $72.19 per barrel after chalking up 5 cents or 0.07 per cent while the US West Texas Intermediate finished at $68.59 a barrel after it gained 22 cents or 0.32 per cent.
China will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy in 2025 as the world’s largest oil importer tries to spur economic growth. This would be the first easing of its stance in 14 years.
Chinese crude imports also grew annually for the first time in seven months, jumping in November on a year-on-year basis.
Speculation about winter demand in Europe also contributed to the rise in prices as the period has been known for high demand.
In Syria, rebels were working to form a government and restore order after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, with the country’s banks and oil sector set to resume work on Tuesday.
Although Syria itself is not a major oil producer, it is strategically located and has strong ties with Russia and Iran – two of the world’s largest oil producers.
Market analysts noted that the tensions in the Middle East seem contained, which led market participants to price for potentially low risks of a wider regional spillover leading to significant oil supply disruption.
The market is also looking forward to the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to make a 25 basis point cut to interest rates at the end of its December 17-18 meeting.
This move could improve oil demand in the world’s biggest economy, though traders are waiting to see if this week’s inflation data derails the cut.
Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 499,000 barrels for the week ending November 29, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had expected a draw of 1.30 million barrels.
For the week prior, the API reported a 1.232-million barrel build in crude inventories.
So far this year, crude oil inventories have fallen by roughly 3.4 million barrels since the beginning of the year, according to API data.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
Also, the market is getting relief from the recent decision of selected members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+ to delay the rollback of 2.2 million barrels per day of oil production cuts to April from January. Another 3.6 million barrels per day in output reductions across the OPEC+ group has been extended to the end of 2026 from the end of 2025.
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