Food prices remain high despite lower headline inflation in January, as Kebbi, Delta, Ondo lead

FOOD PRIC ES REMAINED HIGH in January leading to a composite food index growth of 13.51 per cent year on year despite the lowering growth in headline inflation to 11.37 per cent, the Consumer Price Index by released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday, has shown.

According to the agency, the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices major staple food items in Nigeria like fish, bread and cereals, vegetables, meat, fruits, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oils and fats, soft drinks.

The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending January 2019 over the previous twelve-month average was 13.93 per cent, 0.42 percent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in December 2018, which was 14.35 per cent.

Kebbi, Delta and Ondo states profiled the highest food inflation on a year on year basis with each recording 16.45 per cent, 16.27 per cent and 15.63 per cent respectively, while Plateau at 11.83 per cent, Enugu at 11.64 per cent and Ogun at 10.99 per cent recorded the slowest rise in food inflation.

On month on month basis however, January 2019 food inflation was highest in Delta at 2.73 per cent, followed by Kwara 2.50 per cent and Ondo at 2.22 per cent.

Anambra, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Nasarawa, Osun and Zamfara all recorded food price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level of goods and services or a nega- tive inflation rate) in January 2019.

In January 2019, all items inflation on year on year basis was also highest in Kebbi at 14.64 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 13.79 per cent and Jigawa at 13.17 per cent, while Kwara with a record of 9.28 per cent, Cross River with 9.24 per cent and Ogun state with 9.01 per cent recorded the slowest rise in headline Year on Year inflation.

The latest headline inflation rate at 11.37 per cent was 0.07 percent points lower than the 11.44 per cent recorded in December 2018.

The report showed that increases were recorded in all divisions that yielded the Headline index.

On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.74 per cent in January 2019, same rate as was recorded in December 2018 (0.74 per cent).

Analysis showed that the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending January 2019 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 11.80 percent, showing 0.3 percent point from 12.10 per cent recorded in December 2018.

The urban inflation rate increased by 11.66 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2019 from 11.73 per cent recorded in December 2018, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.11 percent in January 2019 from 11.18 per cent in December 2018.