Prices of beans, eggs, rice surge 169% in August

Despite prices of major food items declining, the average prices of beans, eggs and rice rose by 169 percent in August, the most on record, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.

These three food items showed the highest notable yearly increase as prices of beans rose 271.55 percent in August 2024 to N2,574 from N693 recorded in August 2023, notably rising by 5.31 percent on a month-on-month basis.

Experts have attributed the continuous surge in the prices of the legumes to the worsening rate of insecurity in the northern region of the country where they are mainly cultivated.

For eggs, the report noted that the average prices of 12 pieces of agric eggs rose by 122 percent on a year-on-year basis to N2,289 in the review period from N1,032 in August of last year. On a month-on-month basis, prices of eggs rose by 5.48 percent from N2,170 in July 2024.

The worsening insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation and high logistic costs are causing a rise in the prices of poultry feeds across the country.

The Poultry Association of Nigeria decried the effect of the increasing cost of maize and soybean, two key ingredients in poultry feed formulation owing to the country’s worsening insecurity and high logistic costs of transporting the grains from the farms to the mills.

Read also: Why food prices remain high despite fall in inflation

The situation has led to a surge in the prices of feeds, translating to high production costs for poultry farmers.

Beans and eggs are economically important agricultural produce that serves as the cheapest protein means for the majority in Africa’s most populous nation.

But the reach is now fast eluding most Nigerian households, causing a rise in the number of malnourished persons in the country and a setback to the country’s school feeding programme targeted at feeding a child an egg daily.

“I can’t afford to give my children an egg per day anymore despite knowing the importance of their development because it has become so expensive,” Moji Adeleke, a teacher and a mother of four said.

For rice, Nigeria’s most consumed staple, the average price of rice (1kg) went up by 148 percent on a year-on-year basis from N737 in August 2023 to N1,831 in August 2024, while there was an increase of 3.65 percent on a month-on-month basis.

Rice farmers in the country are currently battling floods and rising input costs which is causing a rise in the prices of local parboiled rice, while FX shortages are also causing a surge in the prices of imported parboiled rice.

On a state analysis, the highest average price of beans was recorded in Akwa Ibom at N3,277 while the lowest was in Adamawa State at N1,711. The highest average price of agric eggs was recorded in Niger at N2,997 while the lowest was in Jigawa at N1,786.

In the period under review, the report indicated that prices of a loaf of bread also soared by 113.16 percent year-on-year from N685 in August 2023 to N1,460 in August 2024.

Similarly, the price of a tuber of yam increased by 188 percent on a year-on-year basis from N576 in August 2023 to N1,662 in the review period. However, on a month-on-month basis, it decreased by 7.82 percent from N1,803 in July.