Going by a benchmark United Nations report released on Thursday, global food commodity prices fell in July for the second consecutive month, except in Nigeria where traders are still basking in the refrain of ‘’things don cost’’.
The citizenry are witnessing rising prices of food items. For instance, the prices of foodstuffs like meat, eggs, and beans are rapidly increasing as the COVID-19 pandemic and flooding have worsened the poor agricultural and farming conditions across the country.
Prices of food for families in the country have grown astronomically high, and market experts have warned that these high prices of food are here to stay as farming has become untenable due to flooding and insecurity.
The price of bread in Nigeria has reached a decade-high as consumer demand keeps increasing. Other foodstuffs like fish, chicken and milk remain volatile because of difficulty in transportation and processing of these products.
Prices of Rice in Nigeria: 50kg @ Bodija Market, Ibadan – N29,500; 50kg @ Dawanau Market, Kano -N29,000; 50kg @ Gboko Main Market, Benue – N29,000; 50kg @ Mile 12 Market, Lagos – N29,500; 50kg @ Igbudu Market, Delta – N29,000; 50kg @ Gombe Main Market – N29,000; 50kg @ Nkwo Nnewi Market, Enugu – N30,000; and 50kg @ Umuahia Main Market, Abia – N30,000.
Prices of Cassava Products: A bag of Yam Flour (Elubo) – N63, 000- N69, 000; a bag of Garri, N13, 000 – N175,000; a paint bucket of Garri, N650-N900; a bag of Ijebu Gaari (80 kg), N10, 000 – N16, 000; a bag of White Gaari (50 kg), N6,000 – N12, 000; and a bag of Yellow Gaari (50 kg), N6, 000 – N8, 500
Prices of Yam: A tuber of big Abuja yam is going for between N700 and N900; N500 – N650 for the medium size; the regular big yam, N500 – N800, and N350 – N500 for its medium size.
However, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index averaged 123.0 points in July 2021, 1.2 percent lower than the previous month although still 31.0 percent higher than its level in the same period of 2020.
The index tracks changes in the international prices of the most globally traded food commodities. The July drop reflected declines in the quotations for most cereals and vegetable oils as well as dairy products.
FAO’s Cereal Price Index was 3.0 percent lower in July than in June, pushed down by a 6.0 percent month-on-month drop in international maize prices associated with better-than-earlier projected yields in Argentina and improved production prospects in the United States of America, even as crop conditions in Brazil remained a concern.
Prices of other coarse grains such as barley and sorghum also dropped significantly, reflecting weaker import demand. However, wheat quotations edged 1.8 percent higher in July – reaching their highest level since mid-2014 – in part due to concerns over dry weather and crop conditions in North America.
At the same time, international rice prices hit two-year lows, impacted by currency movements and a slow pace of sales caused by high freight costs and logistical hurdles.
The FAO Dairy Price Index declined 2.8 percent from June, impacted by slower market activity in the Northern hemisphere due to ongoing summer holidays, with skim milk powder registering the largest drop, followed by butter, whole milk powder and cheese.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index reached a five-month low, declining 1.4 percent from June, as lower prices for soy, rape and sunflower seed oils more than offset rising palm oil values. A lower biodiesel blending mandate in Argentina pressured soyoil prices lower, while those for rape and sunflower oils were influenced by prospective record supplies for the 2021/22 season.
In contrast, the FAO Sugar Price Index increased by 1.7 percent in July, its fourth monthly increase. The rise was mostly related to firmer crude oil prices as well as uncertainties over the impact of recent frosts on yields in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter, while good production prospects in India prevented a larger jump.
The FAO Meat Price Index rose marginally from June, with quotations for poultry meat rising the most due to increased imports by East Asia and limited production expansions in some regions. Bovine meat prices also strengthened, buoyed by high imports from China and lower supplies from major producing regions. Meanwhile, pig meat prices fell, following a decline in imports by China.
