Economy
Vendors Lament as Cost of Key Jollof Rice Ingredients Soars 37.4%
By Bliss Okperan, Adedapo Adesanya
The cost of cooking a pot of jollof rice, one of the most consumed foods daily in Nigeria, has surged by 37.4 per cent, according to research carried out by Business Post.
Using market data and the most recent food price watch by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), major food items in making the delicacy, including rice, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and onions, among others have recorded a massive increase within the past year, making it hard for the average Nigerian to survive.
According to NBS, 1 kilogram of Rice cost N757.06 in 2023 as against N471.42 in the same period of 2022, indicating a 60.6 per cent increase, as 1kg of Groundnut oil hit N1,496.17 in 2023 as against N1113.33, indicating a 34.4 per cent increase. The price of 1kg of tomatoes was recorded at N565.69 in 2023 versus N445.12, showing a 27.1 per cent increase in the past year and 1kg of onions now cost N515.59, a 28.9 per cent rise from N397.18 in the preceding year.
Using these four food items, preparing the meal would cost around N2,400 to make a pot of the delicacy last year, but with surging costs as a result of biting food inflation, this has risen to N3,330.
Complementary foods to jollof rice have also seen a rise with a bunch of ripe plantains now selling for an average price of N586.43, in contrast to N345.90, 12 months ago, which indicates a 69.5 per cent increase.
Frozen chicken, which previously retailed at N2,569.63 in 2022 recorded a 23.6 per cent increase as it jumped to N3,126.7 per cent and chicken wings cost N1,630.58 in 2023 as against N1,338.82 in 2022, indicating a 21.8 per cent increase.
For fish lovers, they saw 1 kg of frozen Titus fish surge by 22.4 per cent to N2,045.95 against N1,671.45 while the cost of buying one unit of Agric eggs cost N96.00 against its previous cost of N75.07 which indicates 27.9 increase.
Vendors Lament Cost Effect
Nigerians have continued to lament the growing prices of food, fuel, and other daily needs with the Dollar rate triggering a ripple effect in the cost of living. For food vendors, it has been challenging for their businesses.
According to Ms Gift Ogidi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EatAtYinz Restaurant, “Things are so expensive these days.”
She said the cost of tomatoes has almost tripled and has affected the cost of her soup varieties.
“I bought tomatoes for N6,000 in September and when I wanted to buy that same quantity this month, I was told it is now N15,000. After much bargaining, I bought it for N12,000. This is the same with other foodstuffs. This has affected the price of my meals as I have to review my prices. The annoying thing is that my customers would not understand and sometimes, I run at a loss because I am trying to please my customers.”
For her, “It is painful,” because “I cannot compromise the quality of my food but with the way things are going, Food vendors are left with two choices, reduce the quality and quantity of meals per serving or litre (depending on the package you offer) or increase the prices, well I went with the latter and trust me, business has been slow.”
Also, a street food seller in the Egbeda area of Lagos State identified as Bose, who spoke with this newspaper, said she was considering leaving the business because of the high cost of food items.
“Can you believe that a kilo of frozen turkey is now between N5,200 and N5,500, and chicken is between N3,000 and N3,200, depending on where you buy it. Fish is now also expensive. We find it difficult to make a profit these days,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange weakened by 0.22 per cent on Tuesday, April 28, with the market capitalisation down by N4.8 billion to N2.420 trillion from N2.425 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) down by 9.01 points to 4,044.96 points from 4,053.97 points.
During the session, the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N1.82 to N767.05 per share from N78.87 per share, while FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N100.00 per unit from N98.10 per unit.
According to data, the value of trades increased by 265.7 per cent to N27.1 million from N7.4 million units, and the volume of transactions surged by 305.2 per cent to 1.3 million units from 319,831 units, while the number of deals decreased by 6.9 per cent to 27 deals from 29 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.8 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure is beginning to mount on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market despite an oil windfall triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On Monday, April 27, the domestic currency further weakened against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N16.47 or 1.2 per cent to N1,380.71/$1 from the previous day’s N1,364.24/$1.
It was not different against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, as it lost N16.04 to trade at N1,863.76/£1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,847.72/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N12.72 to close at N1,615.01/€1 versus N1,602.29/€1.
The Naira also depreciated against the Dollar at the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,390/$1 compared with the previous price of N1,385, and at the GTBank forex counter, it further crashed by N9 to settle at N1,379/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,370/$1.
The continued decline of the Naira comes as traders increasingly seek other safe-haven currencies amid continued global disruptions.
The benefit awash in the global market is making foreign portfolio investors stay short in Nigerian markets. Despite this, the daily FX publication released showed that interbank turnover rose to $98.829 million across 78 deals, up from $76.65 million.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained cautious, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $77,216.66 despite surging oil prices and geopolitical tensions over a potential extended US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts say the supply overhang has finally dried up, and the sellers who were spooked by macro shifts or quantum fears have already exited, leaving the market much thinner on the sell-side.
Investors will await decisions made by central banks this week. The US Federal Reserve will announce its rate decision later on Wednesday, while the European Central Bank (ECB) follows on Thursday.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 1.5 per cent to trade at $2,324.59, Dogecoin (DOGE) chalked up 1.4 per cent to sell for $0.1016, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $84.85, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.5 per cent to $0.2483, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.2 per cent to $627.15.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3224, and Ripple (XRP) lost 0.03 per cent to sell at $1.39, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil was up by nearly 3 per cent on Tuesday as persistent worries about supply constraints from the closed Strait of Hormuz continued, with Brent futures for June rising by $3.03 or 2.8 per cent to $111.26 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures growing by $3.56 or 3.7 per cent to $99.93 a barrel.
An earlier round of negotiations between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after face-to-face talks failed.
Ship-tracking data showed significant disruptions in the region, with six Iranian oil tankers forced to turn back due to the US blockade, but some traffic is still moving.
Prices trimmed some of the advances after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the fourth-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it would exit the group on this Friday, May 1, 2026.
This dealt a blow to the oil-exporting group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE could quickly add between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day of output. However, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, analysts said that there’s nowhere for that supply to go.
The UAE joined OPEC in 1967, but tension with Saudi Arabia over production quotas has been building for years.
Under the OPEC+ deal, the country has been held to roughly 3 million barrels per day while sitting on capacity above 4 million. It has been pushing toward 5 million barrels per day by 2027, and that target is hard to achieve with quotas built around someone else’s view of the market.
The war in Yemen broke whatever was left of diplomatic patience.
President Donald Trump said he was unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to end the war. The proposal would avoid addressing the nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
The Idemitsu Maru, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, and an LNG tanker managed by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) crossed the Strait on Tuesday, shipping data showed.
Vortexa data showed that the amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose to 153.11 million barrels as of April 24.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. The official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
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