According to a report by BusinessDay, the cost of Christmas meals in Nigeria has risen by 28%.
Maryam Abati’s family will have to spend 28.3 per cent more on food this year to celebrate Christmas than they did in 2021.
Despite the fuel scarcity in the Lagos leading to traffic jam and making movement difficult, Abati, a 45-year-old teacher and mother of four, has visited several markets in search of cheaper food items for Christmas, but the surge in prices left her frustrated.
“You can imagine buying a small bag of fresh pepper I bought for N3,000 last year for N13,000 now. The price change is even over 200 per cent, and salaries are still the same,” she said.
“I have visited several markets to see if I can get it cheaper but the prices are all the same. I decided to buy a smaller quantity for just my immediate family for Christmas,” she added.
Like millions of families in the country, the Abati family is feeling the pinch of rising inflation, caused by a combination of the global supply-chain disruptions occasioned by Russia-Ukraine war, weakening naira, and escalating insecurity in Nigeria.
Foods such as jollof rice, which is a common feature on the Christmas menu, will cost a Nigerian an average of 28 percent more this year compared to 2021, the biggest annual increase seen in 17 years, BusinessDay’s market price analysis shows.
BusinessDay collated December food prices in 10 markets spread across Lagos in computing the costs of ingredients for a standard Christmas meal and compared them with that of 2021.
The ingredients that were used for the analysis are local parboiled rice, vegetable oil, frozen chicken, seasoning, pepper, tomatoes, spaghetti, onions, and cooking gas.
“This year has been very challenging for families, with many struggling to survive owing to the continuous surge in food prices,” said Oluwaseun Oni, a hairdresser who was at Mile 12 Market to make a purchase.
“Prices of every item have almost doubled and most families cannot afford the Christmas menu this year,” she said.
Food prices in Africa’s biggest economy have been increasing steadily since 2018, but in 2022, they rose at a faster pace, crimping Nigerians ability to feed and meet their daily nutritional needs.
With the constant surge in prices, headline inflation accelerated to 21.47 percent in November 2022 while food inflation jumped to 24.13 percent, according to National Bureau of Statistics.
The inflationary pressure has shrunk consumers’ disposable incomes, stretched budgets, and forced many to cut down on their purchases for the festive season.
“You cannot go to the market with a budget anymore because food prices keep rising daily,” Bisi Sawyerr, an accountant with a consultancy firm, said. “We just keep cutting down on purchases to survive, especially for Christmas when prices are usually higher owing to a rise in demand.”
BusinessDay surveys at Iddo, Oyingbo, Mile 12, Ketu, Ikeja, Ogba, Bariga, Jakande-Lekki, Ajah, and Mushin markets in Lagos show that a 50kg bag of local parboiled rice was sold for an average of N34,500, up from an average of N27,000 a year ago, indicating a 28 percent increase in price.
Similarly, the price of a 50kg bag of foreign parboiled rice rose by 35.3 percent to N39,250 from N29,000 in December 2021.
The average price of a 10kg carton of frozen chicken increased by 20.5 percent to N23,500 from N19,500 in December last year, while a kilo goes for N2,400 as against N2,000 in the same period last year.
The price of a 10kg carton of frozen turkey jumped by 43.6 percent to N33,750 from N23,500 a year ago, while that of a 25-liter keg of vegetable oil increased to N35,000 from N32,000.
A big basket of fresh tomatoes sells for N16,000 as against N14,000 last year in December, while a small basket sells for N8,500.
A bag of fresh pepper rose by 127 percent to N34,000 from N15,000 last year, while a small bag sells for N13,000.
A 100kg bag of onions now sells for N60,000 in Lagos markets as against N55,000 in December last year.
A carton of spaghetti previously sold for N5,500 now goes for N8,000, while a pack that was sold for N300 now sells for N400.
A 4-6kg boiler life-bird sells for N9,000 in Lagos; 7kg for N10,000 and old layers for N4,000.
The average cost of a 12.5kg cylinder of gas now sells for N10,000 as against N9,000 sold last December. A litre of kerosene now sells for N1,083 as against N468 per litre in December 2021, a 131 percent increase in price.