By Doris Isreal Ijeoma
Economic hardship has worsened for Nigerians as prices of garri, beans, yam, and tomatoes increased by at least 180 percent in June 2024, compared to the same period last year amid looming planned nationwide protests.
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its June Selected Food report released on Wednesday.
The report considered prices of staple foods, including garlic, beans, tomatoes, yam and potatoes.
The data showed that food prices increased on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis.
According to specific food item analysis, one kilogram of garri (white) went up by 181.66 percent on a year-on-year basis from N403.15 in June 2023 to N1,135.51 in June 2024, while there was an increase of 1.86 percent on a month-on-month basis.
Also, the price of 1kg of beans brown (sold loose) stood at N2,292.76, indicating a rise of 252.13 percent YoY from N651.12 recorded in June 2023.
Similarly, 1kg of yam tuber increased by 295.79 percent on a year-on-year basis from N510.77 in June 2023 to N 2,021.55 in May 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 52.87 percent from N 1,322.36 in May 2024 to N 2,021.55 in June 2024.
Also, the price of tomatoes (1kg) increased Year-on-Year (YoY) by 320.67 percent to N2,302.26 in June 2024 from N547.28 in June of last year (2023).
The report added that there was also a notable price increase of Irish potato by 288.5 percent on a year-on-year basis from N623.75 in June 2023 to N2,423.27 in June 2024.
On a state-by-state level analysis, Lagos state recorded the highest price of 1kg tuber of yam at N3,376.54, while Adamawa recorded the lowest price at N1,100.00.
Gombe recorded the highest average price of 1kg Garri (white) sold loose at N1,619.27, while the lowest was reported in Taraba at N900.
This comes as June’s core and food inflation stood at 34.19 percent and 40.87 percent respectively.
The implication is that the purchasing power of more Nigerians will continue to decline, worsening the misery index.
The development comes as Nigerians gear up for a planned national protest scheduled for 1st August, 2024.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had called on the citizens to shelve the planned protests.
According to him, the government needed time for its policies, including a new minimum wage of N70,000 to impact Nigerians positively.
The government’s plea comes as Nigerian governors and ministers target dialogue to halt the planned protest.
