Nigeria’s food inflation worsened in November: NBS

The statistics office said food inflation soared to 18.30 percent last month, a 0.92 percent increase from 17.38 percent recorded in October.

Nimi Princewill • December 15, 2020

Food items used to illustrate the story

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 14.89 percent in November 2020, up from 14.23 percent in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a monthly inflation report Tuesday.

The nation’s statistics office said food inflation soared to 18.30 percent last month, a 0.92 percent increase from 17.38 percent recorded in October.

The NBS’ Consumer Price Index report, which measures increase in prices of goods and services, disclosed that the cost of food items such as bread and cereals, fish, fruits, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat and vegetables rose the highest last month.

Experts have predicted a continuous surge in Nigeria’s inflation rate, with the figures expected to rise as high as 15 percent before the end of 2020.

The Nigerian economy last month plunged into its second recession since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, recording a dive in gross domestic product for two consecutive quarters.

Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has, however, expressed optimism that the country could emerge from the economic meltdown by the first quarter of 2021.

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