Thelma Osatohanmwen
The price of rice in Nigeria has surged to unprecedented levels, with both foreign and locally made varieties experiencing significant price hikes in recent weeks.
It was gathered that the cost of a 50kg bag of foreign rice now exceeds N88,000, marking a 22.2% increase from earlier in the month.
Similarly, locally made rice has seen a nearly identical price surge of 21.8%, reaching N67,000 per bag within less than a month. This surge represents a 244% increase for foreign rice and a 209% increase for local rice compared to the same period last year.
The spike in rice prices has been attributed to various factors, including the depleting value of the naira, continuous bans on the importation of foreign rice, and the resultant surge in the cost of living.
The recent inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that food inflation reached 35.71% in January 2024, the highest level since August 2005.
Contributing to this surge are increases in the prices of various food items, including bread, cereals, potatoes, yam, oil, fish, meat, coffee, tea, and cocoa. Imported food inflation rose to 26.3%, the highest rate recorded since January 2012, driven by foreign exchange volatility and low agricultural production.
