Nigeria’s food inflation rate experienced a sharp increase in July, rising by 2.79 percentage points to reach 20.31 percent, compared to 17.52 percent recorded in June. This increase marks the fifth consecutive monthly rise since March 2026 and represents the first time the metric has crossed the 20 percent threshold since February 2021.
According to the Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation measured at 20.31 percent year-on-year for July 2026, down from the 26.2 percent observed during the same period in July 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation reached 5.56 percent, reflecting a 1.82 percentage point increase from June’s figure of 3.75 percent. The statistical agency attributed the uptick primarily to rising average market prices for staple commodities, including crayfish, fresh peppers, onions, carrots, rice, tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, eggs, and grains.
Regional variations across the country highlighted distinct price trends. On a year-on-year basis, Adamawa experienced the highest food inflation rate at 51.36 percent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 percent and Zamfara at 30.65 percent.
Conversely, Borno recorded a decline at -0.31 percent, while Nasarawa and Kebbi saw lower increases at 6.88 percent and 12.50 percent, respectively. Monthly tracking showed Adamawa, Lagos, and Borno leading in price acceleration, whereas Jigawa, Kebbi, and Bauchi recorded month-on-month declines.
In contrast to rising food costs, overall headline inflation declined for a second straight month, falling by 0.48 percentage points to 15.43 percent in July from 15.91 percent in June.
The National Bureau of Statistics noted that this overall moderation was driven chiefly by a slowdown in core inflation, which eased to 14.97 percent, while month-on-month inflation also adjusted downward to 1.57 percent.
