The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for September, revealing a significant surge in Nigeria’s inflation rate.
According to the report, the country’s headline inflation rate rose to 27.33% in October 2023, marking the tenth consecutive increase in inflation this year.
The report highlights the following key findings:
Year-on-Year Inflation Rate Soars:
The year-on-year headline inflation rate in October 2023 was 6.24 percentage points higher than in October 2022, which stood at 21.09%. This indicates a substantial increase in the country’s inflation rate when comparing the same month from the preceding year.
Month-on-Month Inflation Decreases:
In October 2023, the month-on-month headline inflation rate was 1.73%, which was 0.37% lower than the rate recorded in September 2023 (2.10%). This means that the rate of increase in the average price level was lower in October 2023 compared to the previous month.
Food Inflation Rate Surges:
Food inflation played a significant role in driving overall inflation. The food inflation rate in October 2023 was 31.52% on a year-on-year basis, a notable increase of 7.80 percentage points compared to October 2022, which stood at 23.72%.’
The surge in food inflation was attributed to rising prices of food items, including bread, yam, potatoes, oil and fat, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, and dairy products.
Regional Disparities:
The report also highlighted regional disparities in food prices. In October 2023, Kogi, Kwara, and Lagos had the highest food inflation rates, recording 41.74%, 38.48%, and 37.37%, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.
Conversely, Borno, Kebbi, and Jigawa recorded the slowest rise in food inflation rates on a year-on-year basis.
On a month-on-month basis, Yobe, Sokoto, and Jigawa experienced the highest food inflation rates, while Edo, Katsina, and Rivers recorded the slowest rise in inflation.
Factors Driving Inflation:
The report pointed to several factors driving inflation, including increases in the prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, and dairy products. The decline in food inflation on a month-over-month basis was attributed to a decrease in the rate of increase in the average prices of fruits, oil and fat, coffee, tea, cocoa, and bread and cereals.
Nigeria continues to grapple with rising inflation, posing challenges for consumers and policymakers. It remains to be seen how the government and central bank will respond to this ongoing economic issue in the coming months.
