Food inflation bites harder in Kogi, Rivers, three other states in September

Abuja, Nigeria

The five states of Kogi, Rivers, Lagos, Kwara and Ondo have witnessed the highest food inflation in September 2023. 

This is contained in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) September consumer price index (CPI) report published on Monday.

In the report, September food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (39.37%), Rivers (35.95%), and Lagos (35.66%) while Jigawa (23.41%), Borno (25.29%) and Sokoto (25.38%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis. 

However, on a month-on-month basis, September 2023 food inflation was highest in Akwa Ibom (4.23%), Niger (4.19%), and Ebonyi (3.74%), while Cross River (0.31%), Borno (0.62%) and Bayelsa (0.73%) recorded the slowest rise in inflation on month-on-month basis.

The food inflation rate in September 2023 was 30.64% on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.30% points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022 (23.34%). 

The rise in food inflation as occurred on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other Tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables and milk, cheese, and eggs. 

Comparing food inflation on a month-on-month basis, the rate in September 2023 was 2.45% indicating 1.41% lower to the rate recorded in August 2023 which was 3.87%. 

This decline in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was attributed to the fall in the rate of increase in the average prices of potatoes, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, fruits, and fish.