Jollof Cost Soars to a 7-Year High Under Buhari as Price of Local Rice Jumps 200 Per Cent
- A new survey has shown that the cost of making jollof rice in Nigeria has skyrocketed
- The report quoted a survey from 13 markets across Nigeria, revealing the best markets to buy jollof ingredients in Nigeria.
- Another report says that the price of locally produced rice has jumped by 200% in the last seven years
A recent report says that the average cost of preparing a pot of jollof rice for a family of five in Nigeria has surged to the highest in almost seven years.
The Jollof Index by SBM Intelligence reflects the rising prices of things in the country, from food to fuel.
Source: Getty Images
It takes over N10,000 to prepare jollof rice
The report by SBM Intelligence, a research firm, shows that the cost of preparing the local delicacy rose by 166.3% to N10,882 in March 2023 from N4,087 in June 2016, at the launch of the index.
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Additional analysis reveals that a family of five earning a monthly minimum wage of N30,000 would spend about 36.3% of the money to prepare the meal.
The Jollof Index illustrates how food prices have changed over time. The report is gathered monthly from 13 markets cutting across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones and is calculated using the costs of the ingredients, excluding seasonal December changes.
The report adds the cost of ingredients such as rice, vegetable oil, chicken or turkey, beef, seasoning, pepper, tomatoes, salt, and onions have all skyrocketed.
BusinessDay reports that the research firm highlighted that the Wuse II market in Abuja is the most expensive market to make jollof rice at N13,150, while Lagos is the cheapest at N8,850.
The report said:
“These differences in the cost of making a pot of jollof rice show the diversity of challenges faced by different communities and the importance of monitoring food prices across various regions to ensure that everyone has access to affordable and nutritious meals.”
Local rice price jumps by 200%
The development comes amid reports that the price of locally produced rice in Nigeria has jumped 200% in seven years.
Punch reports that the increase happened despite the multi-billion funding support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CB) for Nigeria’s value chain to boost rice production.
According to data from the Selected Food Prices Watch Report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average price of 1kg of local rice increased from N172,74 as of February 2016 to N520.84 as of February 2023.
The Nigerian government, via the CBN, stopped rice importers and 41 other items from accessing forex at the official window to encourage local production.
The federal government also banned rice imports across land borders and hiked the tariff on rice imports.
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Legit.ng reported that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending September 2022 increased to 23.34 per cent.
This is the highest level in over 13 years, demonstrating how economically stressed Nigerian households have become.
NBS stated this in its Consumer Price Index report published on its website on Tuesday, 18 October 2022.
Source: Legit.ng
