Nigeria’s statistics office says prices for several key food items eased in October, helping food inflation fall sharply from recent highs.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported small month-on-month drops in items such as beans, garri, tomatoes, beef and rice in its Selected Food Prices Watch for October.
The NBS data showed food inflation — the yearly rise in food prices — stood at 13.12% in October, down from higher rates in previous months. Year-on-year means the change compared with the same month one year earlier.
Overall inflation also eased: headline consumer inflation fell to about 16.05% in October, reflecting weaker price pressure across the economy.
The NBS and other analysts caution that part of the sharp fall in the annual food inflation rate is technical — linked to a recent change in the CPI base year — even though real price relief was felt in markets where staple supplies improved.
That means the percentage drop partly reflects how the index is measured, not only actual price cuts.
For example, the average price of 1 kg of brown beans fell year-on-year from about ₦2,798.50 in October 2024 to roughly ₦1,760.53 in October 2025, a drop of more than a third, according to the NBS summary cited by local media.
Economists say the easing gives consumers some breathing room but warn that food costs remain high by historical standards and that continued good harvests and stable currency and supply chains will be needed to keep prices down.
