Agribusiness stakeholders have criticized the country’s poor infrastructure and high logistical costs, blaming them for the high food prices currently being experienced there.
The operators claimed that because the government has resisted setting proper priorities, the current spike in food costs will persist.
In response to the most recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on rising food prices for July 2022, Nigeria Agribusiness Group President Emmanuel Ijewere said that difficulties in the food value chain were still unresolved.
The average cost of a kilogram of white beans increased by 23.22 percent, from N444.21 in July 2021 to N547.38 in July 2022, according to the most recent NBS report.
From N536.17 in June 2022 to N547.38 in July 2022, the price climbed by 2.09 percent month over month.
“Many of the research institutions that would have helped us are underfunded. Look at the roads, farmers can’t even freely move their produce; farmers have to source their own fertiliser because it is now in the hands of the private sector, no more subsidies. So how do you expect the price of food to come down?”
The worst part of it all, he continued, is that more than 50% of the food produced in the nation is lost due to inadequate storage. Ijewere continued, “On top of that, most of our farmers in the North take their produce up north and sell it outside of Nigeria because they want to sell it in CFA, which has a higher value than our naira.
They are already paying outrageous charges to transport their commodities from the farm to the market, according to Dr. Mohammad Tahir Ibrahim, National President of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria, supporting Ijwere’s assertion.
“Before the current increase in the price of diesel, it was possible to charter a trailer to convey goods from the north to Lagos or South-East or South-South for between N400,000 and N500,000, now the same journey costs over one million naira.”
“If only the government can address the issue of bringing down the price of diesel, the price of food will come down. I also know that the Russia-Ukraine war is also a factor, but the major issue is the high cost of transportation”, Mr Ibrahim added.
According to the NBS data, the average cost of 1 kg of tomatoes grew annually by 7.71%, from N414.83 in July 2021 to N446.81 in July 2022.
In July 2022, the average price for 1 kg of boneless beef was N2,118.84, up 27.58% from the N1,660.76 noted in July 2021.
The NBS also reported that the average cost of a bottle of groundnut oil was N1,078.17 in July 2022, up from N768.81 in July 2021 by 40.24%.
The average cost of 1 kg of local rice grew year over year by 13.55%, from N411.97 in July 2021 to N467.80 in July 2022, it was further said.
A bottle of palm oil cost N890.67 on average in July 2022, up from N635.31 in July 2021. This is a 40.19% increase.
According to a State-by-state analysis, Borno had the lowest average price for a kilogram of white beans in July 2022 at N317.73, while Ebonyi had the highest average price at N900.51.
According to the research, Edo had the highest average price per kilogram of tomatoes at N799.16, while Taraba had the lowest at N159.14.
A kilogram of local rice cost the most in Rivers at N619.62, while Jigawa had the lowest price at N363.34.
Brown bean average prices were greatest in the Southeast at N853.19 per kilogram, followed by the Southwest at N598.00, and lowest in the Northeast at N379.03, according to a zone-by-zone analysis.
The average tomato cost the most on average in the Southeast ($678.80 per kilogram), followed by the Northwest ($656.93), and the least on average in the Northeast ($194.72).
According to the NBS, the highest recorded price for 1 kg of local rice in July 2022 was N796.03 in the Northwest, followed by N519.64 in the Southwest.
According to the NBS, the North Central had the lowest price for 1 kg of local rice at N401.72.
