The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has highlighted a notable surge in the price of beans, despite a slight reduction in the cost of other food commodities in recent days. Rewane shared this observation on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Business Morning, a segment of the Sunrise Daily breakfast show.
“We’ve seen onions drop sharply to N115,000, and rice has decreased to N110,000 from N120,000. However, the commodity that is surprising everyone is beans; it has gone out of storage and out of reach,” Rewane said.
Market checks reveal that traders are now selling a paint rubber of beans for N13,000, a derica for N3,000, and a bag for as high as N180,000.
Rewane attributed the sharp rise in the price of beans to recent floods that severely affected food-producing states, including Borno, Bauchi, and Sokoto. “Flooding has destroyed a lot of goods,” he explained, adding that the recent hike in petrol prices — from around N600 to nearly N1,000 per litre — has further driven up transportation costs for agricultural products.
The economist also predicted that food inflation will continue to rise in the coming weeks but expressed optimism that prices will moderate once expected duty waivers on imported goods take effect.
“For now, despite everything, we expect inflation to rise. Food inflation in particular will increase; headline inflation may hit 34%, but this is temporary. Once the imported commodities benefitting from duty waivers arrive, prices should start to come down,” Rewane stated.
Government Tackles Food Production Crisis
In his Independence Day speech on October 1, 2024, President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians that his administration is focused on restoring stability in the North, where insecurity has displaced farmers. Tinubu emphasized that resettling these farmers would help boost food production and lower prices.
“We expect a leap in food production and a significant reduction in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” Tinubu said during the 64th Independence Day broadcast.
Rising Food Inflation Amid Economic Hardship
Nigeria is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis, marked by soaring living costs and energy prices. The removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange rates in May 2023 have exacerbated inflationary pressures.
In August 2024, inflation stood at 32.15%, with food inflation hitting 37.52% year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The rise in food inflation was attributed to increasing prices of essential staples such as bread, maize, yam, cassava, and palm oil.
Despite various palliative measures introduced by the Tinubu administration and state governors, Nigerians continue to face the brunt of skyrocketing food prices, as inflation drives basic commodities further out of reach for many citizens.
