Nigeria, others hard hit as domestic food prices remain high – World Bank

World Bank’s Food Security Update has disclosed that domestic food price inflation remains high across the globe, in a report released, Tuesday on its website.

In Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported, last Sunday, that prices of popular food items like yam, rice and beef increased significantly in the country in February.

This is also as the bureau further disclosed that the All-commodity Group Import Index for Q4 2022 on average increased by 40 percent points.

The World Bank report which displayed data from the latest month between October 2022 and February 2023 for which food price inflation data were available showed high inflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries with inflation levels above five per cent in 88.21 per cent of low-income countries.

“Inflation prevalent in 93 per cent of lower-middle-income countries, and 89.0 per cent of upper-middle-income countries and many experiencing double-digit inflation.

“The countries affected most are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia,” read the report.

In addition, the report stated about 85.7 per cent of high-income countries were experiencing high food price inflation, further adding that a recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the benchmark index of international food showed that commodity prices declined for the 11th consecutive month in February 2023.

“The FAO Food Price Index averaged 129.8 points in February, a marginal 0.6 per cent decrease from January 2023 and an 18.7 per cent decrease from its peak in March 2022.”

According to the NBS Selected Food Price Watch report for February 2023 published on its website, the average price of 1kg Beef boneless stood at N2, 445.96 in February, this year.

This indicated that on a year-on-year basis, the price rose by 27.43% from the value recorded in February 2022 (N1,922.2), and 1.12 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N2,418.91 in January 2023.

The report said the average price of 1kg of tomato increased on a year-on-year basis by 19.08 per cent from N393.08 in February 2022 to N468.09 in February 2023.

“On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 0.22% in February 2023. “

Also, the average price of 1kg of Rice (locally sold loose) on a year-on-year basis rose by 19.30% from N436.58 in February 2022 to N520.84 in February 2023, the report added.

“Also, on a month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.17% from N514.83 in January 2023.”

Similarly, the average price of 1kg of Onion bulb rose by 18.99% on a year-on-year basis from N378.26 in February 2022 to N450.07 in February 2023. While on a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 0.81%.

For Yam, the NBS said the average price of 1kg Yam tuber on a year-on-year basis rose by 28.45% from N339.76 in February 2022 to N436.41 in February 2023.

“Also, on a month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.17% from N431.36 in January 2023.”

In the same vein, the average price of Vegetable oil (1 bottle, specify bottle) stood at N1,196.68 in February 2023, showing an increase of 25.91% from N950.46 in February 2022. On a month-on-month basis, it rose by 1.10% from N1,183.67 in January 2023.

Meanwhile, the Commodity Price Indices and Terms of Trade Q4, 2022 report published on the NBS website indicates the highest increase was recorded by: “Animal and vegetable fats and oils and other cleavage prods, followed by “Vehicles, aircraft and parts thereof; vessels etc” and “Mineral products”.

The report however showed that All-commodity group export price index averagely decreased by -0.15 percent point in Q4 2022.

“The decrease was majorly attributed to slower changes in the prices of Papermaking material; paper and paperboard, articles”, Base metals and articles of base metals, and Mineral products.”