Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased by 0.26 percentage points, rising to 33.95 percent in May from 33.69 percent in April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) today.
The report also indicated that food inflation surged to 40.66 percent in May, up from 40.53 percent in April. The increase in food inflation was attributed to rising prices of key food items such as Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, Bean (all under the Bread and Cereals class), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam (under the Potatoes, Yam, and other Tubers class), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil (under Oil and Fat), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish (under the Fish class), and various meats including Beef Head, Chicken-live, Pork Head, and Bush Meat (under the Meat class).
Kogi State experienced the highest year-on-year rise in food inflation at 46.32 percent, while Gombe State saw the highest month-on-month increase at 4.88 percent.
Headline Inflation Details
“In May 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 33.95 percent relative to the April 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.69 percent,” the NBS stated. “This represents a 0.26 percent point increase compared to April 2024. On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.54 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in May 2023, which was 22.41 percent.”
However, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.14 percent, which is 0.15 percentage points lower than the 2.29 percent recorded in April 2024.
Food Inflation Breakdown
“The Food inflation rate in May 2024 was 40.66 percent on a year-on-year basis, 15.84 percentage points higher than the 24.82 percent recorded in May 2023,” the report detailed. “This rise was driven by increases in prices of items such as Semovita, Oatflake, Yam flour prepackage, Garri, Bean (under Bread and Cereals), Irish Potatoes, Yam, Water Yam (under Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers), Palm Oil, Vegetable Oil (under Oil and Fat), Stockfish, Mudfish, Crayfish (under Fish), and Beef Head, Chicken-live, Pork Head, Bush Meat (under Meat).”
The month-on-month food inflation rate in May 2024 was 2.28 percent, a decrease of 0.22 percentage points from the 2.5 percent recorded in April 2024. This decrease was attributed to a slower rate of increase in the average prices of Palm Oil, Groundnut Oil (under Oil and Fats), Yam, Irish Potato, Cassava Tuber (under Potatoes, Yam and Other Tubers), and beverages like Wine, Bournvita, Milo, and Nescafe (under Coffee, Tea and Cocoa).
Regional Variations
In May 2024, Kogi recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 46.32 percent, followed by Ekiti at 44.94 percent and Kwara at 44.66 percent. The states with the slowest year-on-year food inflation rise were Adamawa (31.72 percent), Bauchi (34.35 percent), and Borno (34.74 percent).
On a month-on-month basis, Gombe led with a food inflation rate of 4.88 percent, followed by Kano at 4.68 percent, and Bayelsa at 3.62 percent. The states with the slowest month-on-month food inflation rise were Ondo (0.02 percent), Yobe (0.95 percent), and Adamawa (1.02 percent).
