Rice is gradually becoming a food for the rich as the price has jumped beyond the reach of ordinary citizens thus worsening the hunger crisis ravaging the nation. The average price of 1kg of Rice local sold loose is said to have increased by 60.59 percent over the last one year jumping from N471.42 in September 2022 to N757.06 in September 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics in its Selected Food Prices Watch for September 2023 released on Monday shows that on a month-on-monthbasis, the average price of rice increased by 2.48 percent from N738.74 in August 2023.
The report also shows that the average price of 1kg of Beef boneless stood at N2,816.91. This indicates 28.08 percent rise in price on a year-on-year basis from N2,199.37 recorded in September 2022 and 0.62 percent rise in price on a month-on-month basis from N2,799.51 in August 2023.
The price of 1kg of Beans brown (sold loose) also rose by 28.76 percent on a year-on-year basis from N556.81 in September 2022 to N716.97 in September 2023. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 3.47 percent from N692.95 in August 2023.
NBS in its Transport Fare Watch for September 2023, report that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 117.29 percent from N615.69 in September 2022 to N1,337.80 in September 2023.
On a month-on-month basis the fare increased byn 0.11 percent from N1,336.38 in August.
In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose by 56.12 percent from N3,790.06 in September 2022. It however decline 0.02 percent on a month-on-month basis to N5,917.16 in September 2023, compared to N5,918.18 in August 2023.
The report say “On a year-on-year basis, the fare In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey was N79,013.48 in September 2023, showing no significant differences in the fare paid in the previous month. However, on a year-on -year basis, the fare rose by 8.70 percent from N72,690.54 in September 2022.