- The war in Ukraine, inflation and problems with the supply chain are driving food prices in Nigeria
- For this reason, some households skip meals or limit their favorite foods, such as jollof rice
- The Jollof Index monitors the cost of preparing this dish, which is a way to look at food prices in Nigeria
- You can find more such information on the Onet homepage
On a normal day, Adeniya Shoremi eats three decent meals. Shoremy’s breakfast, who lives in Lagos, Nigeria, includes bread, eggs and a chocolate milkshake. For lunch, he likes to eat fufu (dough balls made from cassava) with vegetable soup. And for dinner, jollof rice, a dish popular throughout West Africa, made with rice, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables, as well as chicken, beef or fish.
However, recently the 28-year-old has started skipping lunch and dinner due to rising food prices. Shoremi tells Insider that skipping meals makes it difficult for him to work on the farm.
“It could affect my performance,” says Shoremi. – I am the owner of a banana plantation and the nature of my work requires a lot of physical effort – he added.
Worries about malnutrition. “I’m not happy that I can’t eat my jollof anymore as often as I’d like,” he says.
I can’t always have enough food
Shoremi loved jollof since he was a child. His mother always prepared him for celebrations or when she wanted to please him and his siblings.
Local vendor surrounded by sacks of rice and porridge
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Fati Abubakar / BusinessInsider.com
According Jollof index Developed by Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, which tracks the cost of ingredients in a dish and thus studies food prices in Nigeria, the cost of preparing this dish has risen sharply in recent months.
The average price of preparing a pot of jollof rice increased by 8.3%. to $ 9,311 nairas, or $ 22, in the second quarter of 2022 from 8,595 nairas in the first quarter.
Also read: More bad news for food prices. “Hydrogeological drought is coming”
Shoremi buys and cooks his own food, which is unusual for a single man living in Lagos. Many prefer to eat out. He told Insider that cooking has been more profitable so far, but that is changing.
– Until recently, the amount that I spent a month on food was PLN 50,000. nairas – translates. – Out of this amount, I bought rice and other grains, tubers, beans, cooking oils, proteins and other necessary spices. But now this sum is not enough – he adds.
SBM Intelligence’s head of research, Ikemesit Effiong, says rising prices could make the many Nigerian households will cut back on their protein intake.
“Some will reduce the frequency of eating meat or chicken and switch to cheaper alternatives such as fish,” he said.
Shoremi admits that she now only buys basic products in order to supply the body with the most important nutrients.
“Staples like grains, legumes and tubers like sweet potatoes and potatoes are prioritized,” he says. – I also limit spices, which are quite expensive – he adds.
– I buy everything in moderate amounts, unlike I used to. This helps me to ensure a fairly balanced diet, even if I do not always have enough to eat when I want, he emphasized.
People don’t buy as much food as they used to A sea of sellers and customers at the “Mile 12 International Market” in Lagos
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Fati Abubakar / BusinessInsider.com
At the 12 Mile International Market, one of the most popular in Lagos, offering a wide variety of food at wholesale prices, even the best deals are more expensive than they used to be.
Alhaji Ibrahim’s shop sells rice and other grains, beans and lentils.
In an interview with Insider, the man says that in June, a 50-kilogram sack of rice was sold for 33 thousand. nairas. In January, the same bag was sold for 27 thousand. nairas. Due to significant price increases, it has fewer customers.
– It’s hard in the country now. People don’t buy as much food as they used to. Instead, they complain about too high prices, he said.
“But we’re not raising prices just for fun,” he added, saying he couldn’t afford to sell at a loss.
He doesn’t worry about buyers leaving his store completely. “Nigerians will always eat rice no matter what, even if that means they will eat less rice,” he said.
However, she is worried that people are buying smaller amounts. “It definitely slows down my business,” he said. – I have a family that I have to take care of – he adds.
At another Lagos market, Oyingbo Market, traders told Insider that the price of a basket of tomatoes had risen from an average of $ 13,000. nairas in February to 21 thousand. nairas in june. The price of a carton of chicken increased significantly, reaching 21.5 thousand. nairas.
And the jollof ingredients are only part of the story. Statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria showed that in May this year, food inflation was 19.5 percent. There is a chance that it will be even higher in the coming months.
There are no quick fixes
Rising inflation means that some of the people’s income in Nigeria goes to food. – According to our data, it is even 60 percent. monthly salary, said Effiong.
This means that households have less money to spend for savings and other expenses. This slow decline in economic growth bodes badly for the country’s overall development.
Samuel Bamidele, head of research and information at Phillips Consulting Limited in Lagos, says there are no quick fixes to the crisis. It adds that Nigeria’s internal food supply chain is facing structural challenges such as insecurity, volatile exchange rates, high transport costs due to high energy prices, poor road network, scarcity of inputs such as seedlings and fertilizers, financing, and poor and poor irrigation system.
Food inflation has remained at double-digit levels since 2015 due to these issues.
Bamidele points out that Nigeria imports a large proportion of agricultural commoditieswhich means that “disruptions from the global environment come at high costs”.
– If something changes dramatically due to the turmoil in the world economy caused by high energy prices and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the era of single-digit food inflation may be behind us – he says.
Author: Emmanuel Abara Benson
Translation: Mateusz Albin