Food Prices, Transport Costs Worst Hit as Inflation Soars to 25.80% in August 2023

• The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that inflation surged to 25.80% in August
• The report said that food and transportation costs were mostly affected in the month of August
• The report said the report shows that there is a 5.27% rise in inflation on yearly basis

Nigeria’s inflation surged to 25.80% in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Nigeria’s statistics body said that headline inflation surged to 25.80% compared to the July 2023 figure of 24.08%.

Food and transport cost leads in the new inflation report

Per the NBS report, the inflation figures show a spike of 1.72% points compared to the July figure.

NBS revealed that yearly, the headline inflation rate was 5.27% points higher compared to the rate recorded in August last, which was 20.52%.

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The report said the food inflation in August 2023 surged to 29.34% yearly, a 6.22% point higher than the August 2022 figure of 23.12%.

NBS said that the rise in food inflation yearly was due to an increase in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, and potatoes.

Also, the prices of yams and other tubers were affected by the current surge in inflation.

NBS said.

“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in August 2023 was 3.87 per cent, this was 0.41 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2023 (3.45 per cent).

“All items less farm produces and energy” or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, its figure stood at 21.15 per cent in August 2023 on a year-on-year basis.

Daily Trust reports that the figure increased by 4.03% compared to the 17.12% recorded in August 2022.

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NBS stated that the highest increases were recorded in prices of passenger transport by air, road, medical services, vehicle parts, and maintenance of personal transport equipment.

“On a month-on-month basis, the Core Inflation rate was 2.18 per cent in August 2023. It stood at 2.11 per cent in July 2023, up by 0.07 per cent. The average 12-month annual inflation rate was 19.18 per cent for the 12 months ending August 2023; this was 4.38 per cent points higher than the 14.80 per cent recorded in August 2022.”

"No more N28k": 50kg of rice hits N42,000 as FG mobilises $500 million for food in Nigeria

Legit.ng reported that removing subsidies from petrol has caused a sharp increase in food prices, especially rice, in Nigeria.

Checks by Legit.ng reveal that the price of rice, Nigeria's staple, has risen astronomically in the last two weeks in June as petroleum marketers increased the price of petrol from N500 per liter to N617 per liter.

Survey shows that in most markets, traders have added to the already high cost of rice, blaming it on several factors, including the high price of transportation, inflation, and border closure.

Source: Legit.ng