VICTORIA ONU
… prices of meat, others rise – NBS
THE National Bureau of Statistics, on Monday, released the Consumer Price Index Report, with Nigeria’s food inflation rising to 17.38 per cent in October, from 16.66 per cent recorded in September this year.
The rise, according to analysts, was attributed to border closure and dollar restriction for the import of food, including maize and fertilizer.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased by 14.23 per cent, representing 0.52 per cent rise from the 13.71 per cent recorded in September this year.
Nigeria’s inflation rate rose over the last three months, hitting 13.22 in August, 13.71 per cent in September, and most recently, 14.23 per cent in October, all principally driven by food prices.
Food inflation rose by 17.38 per cent in October, a jump from the 16.66 per cent in September 2020.
The NBS said the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, fruits, vegetable, alcoholic and food beverages, including oils and fats.
The bureau said core inflation, which excluded the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 11.14 per cent in October 2020, up by 0.56 per cent when compared with 10.58 per cent recorded in September 2020.
It also said urban inflation jumped to 14.81 per cent, a rise from the 14.31 per cent recorded last September.
The NBS further noted that rural inflation rate increased by 13.68 per cent in October 2020, from 13.14 per cent in September this year.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Abuja Chapter, Prof Uche Uwaleke, said contributory factors such as the continuous border closure, increase in Value Added Tax, implementation of Stamp Duty and the high exchange rate, especially in the parallel market, were responsible for the inflationary pressures.
He said, “The increase in the pump price of fuel also contributed because according to the NBS, a major cause of core inflation came from increase in transport cost.
“It is of concern that food inflation is over 17 per cent and has remained the major driver of inflation even during this harvest season when expectations ordinarily should point to a downward trend.”
According to him, food inflation in October was highest in Edo, Kogi and Zamfara states, and may not be unconnected with insecurity in these parts of the country.
“Since food inflation is the major challenge, it is obviously a supply issue and has gone beyond what the CBN monetary policy can control. Consequently, government should focus on increasing food production by aggressively implementing the massive agricultural programme contained in the Economic Sustainability Plan,” Uwaleke advised.
