By: Ighomuaye Lucky.O
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has given its report for January 2024, disclosing that food inflation rate in January 2024 galloped to 35.41 per cent on a year-on-year basis, an 11.10 per cent increase compared to January 2023 which was 24.32 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in January 2024 was 3.21 per cent, this was 0.49 per cent higher compared to December 2023 (2.72 per cent). The rise in the food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of potatoes, yam and other tubers, bread, cereals, fish, meat, tobacco and vegetable. The average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending January 2024 over the previous 12-month average was 28.91 per cent, which was a 7.38 per cent increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in January 2023 (21.53 per cent).
The NBS said the headline inflation rate increased to 29.90 per cent from that of December 2023 which was 28.92 per cent. The figure showed an increase of 0.98 per cent when compared to the December 2023 headline inflation rate. Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82 per cent.
This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in January 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., January 2023). Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64 per cent, which was 0.35 per cent higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29 per cent). This means that in January 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2023.
In January 2024, all items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (35.79 per cent), Oyo (34.58 per cent), Akwa Ibom (33.16 per cent), while Borno (22.57 per cent), Taraba (24.83 per cent) and Benue (26.64 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, however, January 2024 recorded the highest increases in Ondo (3.79 per cent), Osun (3.77 per cent), Jigawa (3.58 per cent), while Bayelsa (0.45 per cent), Yobe (1.10 per cent) and Ogun (1.35 per cent) recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation.
In January 2024, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (44.18 per cent), Kwara (40.87 per cent), and Rivers (40.08 per cent), while Bauchi (28.83 per cent), Adamawa (29.80 per cent) and Kano (30.08 per cent) recorded the slowest rise in Food inflation on year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, however, January 2024 food inflation was highest in Ondo (4.69 per cent), Osun (4.59 per cent), and Edo (4.58 per cent), while Bayelsa (0.24 per cent), Yobe (0.97 per cent) and Ogun (1.44 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.
