Nigeria’s misery Index continues to worsen with the escalating food prices that have left many households helpless.
The latest report on the Selected Food Price Watch for March 2024 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the average price of one kilogramme of local rice stood at N1,340.74 in March 2024.
This indicates a rise of 152.93 per cent on a year-on-year basis, from N530.08 recorded in March 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the increase was 9.63 per cent when compared to the price of N1,222.97 it sold in February 2024.
The report also shows that the average price of 1kg of Beef boneless increased by 73.78 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N2,479.61 in March 2023 to N4,309.16 in March 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the average price of this item increased by 17.91 per cent from N3,654.56 in February 2024.
The price of other food items like beans rose by 106.78 percent on a year-on-year basis from N596.96 in March 2023 to N1234.4 in March 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 4.79 percent from N1,177.93 in March 2024.
Similarly, the average price of 1kg of Garri white, sold loose rose by 112.34 percent on a year-on-year basis from N353.16 in March 2023 to N749.89 in March 2024, while there was an increase of 3.66 per cent on a month-on-month basis.
In addition, the average price of 1kg of Yam tuber rose by 141.25 percent on a year-on-year basis from N443.02 in March 2023 to N1,068.78 in March 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 5.87 per cent, from N1,009.56 in February 2024 to N1,068 in March 2024.
The NBS had reported that it costs an average of N938 to prepare a single healthy diet for an adult per day in Nigeria, a situation that has stretched the survival of many households.
Nigeria is suffering from the worst case of food inflation in history which in March 2024 hit an all-time time high of 40.01 per cent.
Stakeholders have often blamed the situation on the insecurity that has made it impossible for farmers to go to their farms and the high cost of transportation occasioned by the hike in the prices of diesel and fuel.
