The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Yobe, Kano, and Kebbi recorded the highest food inflation rates in Nigeria for November 2024.
In its latest report, the NBS stated that on a month-on-month basis, food inflation was highest in Yobe with 6.52%, followed by Kano at 5.95%, and Kebbi at 5.68%. Conversely, Borno recorded the lowest increase at 0.76%, followed by Adamawa with 0.90%, and Kogi with 1.21%.
On a year-on-year basis, Sokoto emerged as the state with the highest food inflation rate at 51.30%, followed by Yobe at 49.69% and Edo at 47.77%. States with the lowest annual increases were Kwara (31.39%), Kogi (32.95%), and Rivers (33.27%).
The report highlighted that Nigeria’s overall food inflation rate climbed to 39.93% on a year-on-year basis in November 2024, a significant increase from the 32.84% recorded in November 2023.
The NBS attributed the rise to price increases in key food items, including yams, coco yams, guinea corn, maize, rice, palm oil, and vegetable oil.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate for November 2024 stood at 2.98%, slightly higher than the 2.94% recorded in October. The increase was linked to rising prices of dried fish, rice, yam flour, millet, powdered milk, fresh eggs, and frozen chicken.
The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending November 2024 was 38.67%, a sharp rise from the 27.09% recorded for the same period in 2023.
Food inflation has surged significantly under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, fueled by the removal of fuel subsidies and other economic policies. These measures have compounded the cost of living for many Nigerians, with staple food items becoming increasingly unaffordable for low-income households.
