Amid rising food prices, Nigeria’s inflation jumps to 31.7%.

In February 2024, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed a notable increase in inflation, with the rate rising to 31.7 percent from 29.9 percent the previous month.

In February, food inflation shot up to 37.92 percent, according to the NBS, coinciding with the inflation surge.

The headline inflation rate for January 2024 saw a significant uptick, according to the CPI report, rising 1.80 percentage points from the same period in 2023.

According to the report, “This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in February 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., February 2023).”

In addition, a month-over-month analysis revealed a headline inflation rate of 3.12 percent in February 2024, which represents a 0.48 percent increase over the rate noted in January 2024.

The price increases of basic goods like bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, and fruit are to blame for the sharp rise in food inflation, according to the NBS.

The report also showed that year over year, the rate of food inflation had increased by 13.57 percentage points to 24.35 percent in February 2023 from the previous year.

Furthermore, as measured on a month-over-month basis, the rate of food inflation in February 2024 increased by 3.79 percent, or 0.58 percent, over January 2024.

The NBS stated, “The rise in Food inflation on a Month-on-Month basis was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of Bread and Cereals, Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers, Fish, Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa.”

For the 12 months ending in February 2024, the average annual rate of change in food prices over the preceding 12 months was reported to be 30.07 percent. Compared to the average annual rate of change noted in February 2023, this indicates a rise of 7.95 percentage points.