Prices of food items have skyrocketed by as much as 30 per cent in many parts of Nigeria in the last one year. This increase is largely caused by border closures, COVID-19 containment measures, and insecurity, checks by PREMIUM TIMES have shown.
Other causes, according to our checks, are flooding during the wet season, poor storage facilities, and rising demand.
These factors have meant limited availability of food items plus rising demand, leading to rise in prices.
The prices of some selected food items have shot up by 30 per cent according to price checks by this reporter and the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, (NBS).
According to the NBS, the average price of one dozen eggs medium size increased by 5.48 per cent between October 2019 and October 2020.
Market Insight
In October 2019, a dozen eggs could be purchased at N462.46, but in the same month in 2020, it has risen to N487.81.
Also, the average price of one kilogram (kg) of tomato increased by 31.81 per cent in the last one year.
The medium price of 1kg of tomato in 2019 was N233.38 but has gone up to N307.63 in 2020.