Nigerians groan as prices of foodstuff continue to soar
Prices of all foodstuff in Nigeria have continued to soar in spite Federal Government’s assurances. Latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that prices of selected food items increased tremendously in May 2022, this fact is contained in NBS in its statement.
The report, which was released on Thursday, stated that the average price of 1kg of beans rose on a year-on-year basis by 37.22 per cent from N382.37 in May 2021 to N524.70 in May 2022, while it increased on a month-by-month basis by 1.09 per cent from N519.05 in April to N524.70 in May.
It also showed that the average price of 1kg of a tuber of yam tuber increased by 37.87 per cent from N269.98 in May 2021 to N372.23 in May 2022, stating that on a month-to-month basis, the average price of yam increased by 3.05 per cent in May 2022 compared to April last year.
Also, the average price of 2kg pre-packaged wheat flour rose by 34.92 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the value recorded in May 2021 at N785.86 to N1,060.26.
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On a month-on-month basis, it increased from N1,047.74 in April to N1,060.26 in May 2011 indicating a 1.20 per cent rise.
It further showed that the average price of a bottle of palm oil increased by 42.81 per cent from N593.36 in May 2021 to N847.39 in May 2022, while the average price of 1kg of beef rose by 34.11 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N1,513.42 in May last year to N2,029.59 in May 2022.
The NBS report added that the average price of groundnut oil stood at N1,040.88 in May 2022, an increase of N47.99 per cent compared to N703.36 in May 2021, just as it rose on a month-on-month basis by 3.29 per cent from N1,007.65 in April 2022.
In the same vein, the price of brown beans, garri, rice, bread and other foodstuff increased between April 2021 and May 2022.
At the state level, the NBS report showed that Ebonyi State recorded the highest average price of beans at N899.79 for 1kg, while the lowest was reported in Borno at N345.78.
“The highest average price of 1kg of a tuber of yam was recorded in Akwa Ibom State at N804.44, while the lowest was recorded in Bauchi at N134.17. A further analysis showed that Abia recorded the highest price of 2kg pre-packaged wheat flour at N1.393, while Gombe State recorded the lowest price at N754.03,” it stated.
At the regional level, the South East recorded the highest average increase in the price of beans at N34.93 per kilogramme, followed by the South West at N569.06 per kilogramme, while the North East recorded the least at N295.20.
Similarly, the South West recorded the highest rise in the price of average tuber of yam at N535.27, followed by the South-South with N450.12, while the lowest was recorded in the North East at N114.10.
