Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has increased to 29.90 percent amid high food prices in the country.
The Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that prices rose by 0.98 percent to 29.90 percent in January 2024, compared with 28.92 percent in December.
The food inflation rate in January 2024 was 35.41 percent on a year-on-year basis, which was 11.10 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32%).
The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oil and fat, fish, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82 percent.
This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in January 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e. January 2023).
On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64 percent, which was 0.35 percent higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29%).
This means that in January 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2023.
Food inflation has been a reoccurring issue faced by several governments across the globe and inflamed by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
In Nigeria, the price of food products has increased in geometric progression.
Recently, protests broke out in different parts of the country in reaction to the high cost of living with citizens in Niger, Kano, Kogi, Ondo, and other states demanding solutions to the economic crisis.
On Wednesday, the Northern traditional rulers and the Nigerian Bar Association decried the hardship in the country precipitated by the fuel subsidy removal which had resulted in higher transport costs and food inflation.