Nigerians ate more, so food pushed inflation to 12.34%
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently announced that Nigeria’s consumer price index (CPI), which measures inflation, climbed to 12.34 per cent up year-on-year in the month of April 2020.
The 0.08 per cent points increase over the 12.26 per cent rate recorded in March 2020 was once again propelled by the composite food index, which rose by 15.03 per cent, compared to 14.98 per cent in the preceding month, the NBS noted in its April report. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, headline inflation index increased by 1.02 per cent in April 2020, as against 0.84 per cent in March, just as MoM growth in the food sub-index grew by 1.18 per cent in April from 0.94 per cent.
The rise in the food index was linked to “increases in prices of potatoes, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, oils and fats, meat, fruits and vegetables,” within the period under review.
Urban inflation index stood at 12.26 per cent, up from 12.15 per cent reported in March 2020, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in April 2020 increased to 11.20 per cent compared to 11.14 per cent recorded in March 2020.
On a MoM basis, the urban index rose by 1.06 per cent in April 2020, compared to 0.88 per cent in March 2020, while it increased by 13.01 per cent year-on-year in April 2020 from 12.93 per cent, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.73 per cent in April 2020 from 11.64 per cent in the prior month.
The core sub-index increased by 0.93 per cent in April 2020, up by 0.13 per cent when compared with 0.8 per cent recorded in March 2020; just as the ”All items less farm produce” or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 9.98 per cent, compared to 9.73 per cent recorded in March 2020.
On a state-by-state basis, inflation rate year-on-year was at its peak in Bauchi, where it stood at 14.44 per cent, ahead of the 13.99 per cent reported in Sokoto, while Plateau recorded 13.68 per cent.
It was slowest in Kwara at 8.98 per cent; while Abuja followed with 10.81 per cent and Edo with 10.87 per cent.
On month on month however, all items inflation was highest in
Akwa Ibom, spiking by 2.01 per cent; Oyo, 1.91 per cent; and Abia, 1.81 per cent.
“Edo, Enugu and Bayelsa recorded price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level or negative inflation rate),” the NBS reported.
Also in April 2020, food inflation YoY basis was highest in Sokoto, 17.88 per; Akwa Ibom, 17.55 per cent; and Abuja, 17.65 per cent; while Enugu, with 12.89 per cent recorded the slowest rise; followed by Edo, 12.90 per cent; Ebonyi, 13.04 per cent.
MoM, April 2020 food inflation was highest in Akwa Ibom, 2.65 per cent; Lagos, 2.49 per cent; and Oyo, 2.33 per cent; “while Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Enugu recorded price deflation or negative inflation (general decrease in the general price level of food or a negative food inflation rate),” according to the report.