In December 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that despite a fall in inflation, food prices remained high. This was attributed to the increasing cost of production and other factors such as transportation costs.
The NBS data showed that rice had one of the highest average prices among food items in December 2019. The highest price for rice was recorded at N655 per kilogramme in Rivers State while Jigawa state had the lowest price at only N386 per kilogramme. Other states with relatively higher prices included Kaduna and Kano which both recorded an average price of around N600 per kilogramme for rice during this period.
On a more positive note, there were some reductions seen across different categories when compared to November’s figures; yam tubers saw a decrease from an average price of about ₦1,400/kg to ₦1,200/kg respectively while maize grain dropped from ₦2,000/kg down to approximately ₦1 700 / kg on average throughout Nigeria’s 36 states including Abuja FCT . Despite these decreases however it is still evident that food remains expensive overall especially when considering its importance within Nigerian households
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