See the cheapest states to buy food items as prices crash

• A recent survey has shown a drastic drop in the prices of food items across the country for the first time in 18 months
• The survey shows that the prices of yam, garri, pepper, tomatoes and essential food items dropped in July and August
• Analysts believe the drop in these items would affect CBN’s decision to reduce interest rates in September

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Nigeria’s cost of living is easing for the first time in 2022, which might affect interest rates cut by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in September.

Monthly food inflation reduced to 39.53% in July 2024, the first decline in 18 months as prices of essential food staples such as garri, tomatoes, pepper, yam and potatoes dropped as harvest season set in.

Relief for Nigerians as important food items crash in prices Credit: Legit.ng
Source: Getty Images

Top markets with the cheapest prices

Findings show that average prices of some critical staples dropped in July and August, relaxing the burden on Nigerians who have been battling increasing inflation since last year.

Surveys across major markets in Lagos show that the average price of a big basket of tomatoes has declined by 58% from N120,000 to N50,000.

In Onitsha, the basket of tomatoes costs between N60,000 and N75,000 at significant markets.

In Wuse and Dei Dei markets in Abuja, prices are between N45,000 and N60,000.

According to a BusinessDay report, a 50kg bag of white garri sells for an average of N65,000, up from N75,000 in July. Meanwhile, the average price of a small bucket has dropped by 42.5% to N2,300 from N4,000 in July.

Prices of tomatoes declined by 50% as farmers began to harvest the tubers in some states.

Tomatoes and potato prices drop

Per reports, a small bucket of Irish potatoes currently sells for N4,000 from N12,00 it sold in April-June, dropping by 66% in the period in Lagos.

The price of Irish potatoes also declined to N5,000 in Abuja and N4,000 in Enugu and other southeastern states.

A small basket of Habanero peppers currently sells for an average of N13,000, as against the N35,000 in May-June in Lagos and Abuja, a 63% decline.

Also, the price of a bag of chilli peppers has reduced from N120,000 to N60,000, while a small bucket sells for N3,500 from N8,000.

Cost of rice, other items crash as Nigeria’s inflation drops

Legit.ng earlier reported that data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the headline inflation for July 2024 eased to 33.40% compared to the 34.19% recorded in June 2024.

The July inflation showed a decline of 0.8% points compared to the June figure.

The annual inflation rate stood at 9.32%, higher than the rate recorded in June, at 24.08%. This shows that the inflation rate rose in July compared to the same month in the previous year.

Source: Legit.ng