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Nigeria’s food items, headline inflation up by 15.63 percent December 2021: NBS

*The National Bureau of Statistics announces the country maintained a consecutive decline in the year-on-year headline inflation for eight months from April to November in the past year

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that bread and cereals, meat, fish, and other food items accounted for the increase in food inflation December last year to 17.37 percent, as headline inflation rose to 15.63 percent.

ConsumerConnect reports Dr. Simon Harry, Statistician-General of the Federation, gave the figure Monday, January 17, 2022, in Abuja, FCT, at a press conference to release the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2021.

Foodstuffs

The regulatory agency stated there was a 0.16 percent increase from the 17.21 percent recorded for food inflation November 2021.

Dr. Harry further said that headline inflation increased by 0.23 percent in the last month ogf the past year from 15.40 percent November due to increase in prices of goods and services resulting from increase in demand in the festive season.

The country, the Statistician-General of the Federation noted, had maintained a consecutive decline in the year-on-year headline inflation for a period of eight months from April to November.

He also said: “The change in the declining trend for about eight months might have been caused by the increase in prices of goods and services as a result of increase in their demand during the month under review, being a festive season.”

However, Harry stated that on month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.82 percent December, being 0.74 percent rate higher than the rate recorded in November, which stood at 1.08 percent.

According to NBS, “the urban inflation rate increased to 16.17 percent (year-on-year) in December from 16.33 percent recorded in December 2020, down by 0.16 percent, while the rural inflation rate increased to 15.11 per cent in December, 2021 from 15.20 percent in December 2020, which was lower by 0.09 percent points.

“The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 17.52 per cent in December, 2021.”

Harry as well said: “This is lower than the rate reported in November of the same year which was 17.55 percent, while the corresponding 12-month (month-on-month) average percentage change for rural index inflation rate in December, 2021 stood at 16.40 percent from 16.42 percent in November.”

The Statistician-General also noted that the “all items less farm produce’’ or Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce stood at 13.87 percent in December, 2021, higher by 2.50 percent when compared with 11.37 percent recorded in December, 2020.

On month-on-month basis, he said that the core sub-index also increased to 1.12 percent December, lower by 0.13 percent when compared with 1.26 percent recorded in November.

Harry said: “The highest increases were recorded in prices of gas, liquid fuel, wine, actual and imputed rentals for housing, narcotics, tobacco, spirit, cleaning, repair and hire of clothing.

“Others are garments, shoes and other foot wear and clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories.”

REagrding state-by-state comparison, the NBS stated all Items was highest in Ebonyi State at 18.71 percent, whereas Kwara State recorded the lowest at 12.32 percent.

On the other hand, food Inflation was highest in Kogi at 22.82 per cent, while Edo was the lowest with 13.24 percent.

Nonetheless, the Statistician-General noted that the agency envisages a gradual decline in the figures from January 2022, as prices of goods and services are expected to begin to reduce.

According to Harry, this would get Nigeria back on the trajectory of persistent decline that was recorded 2021.

The details are necessary in building the confidence of consumers of statistics on the numbers released and educating Nigerians on the significance of such numbers in determining the performance of every successive government, said he.

Harry also said that the Federal Government over the years had respected the operational independence of the NBS such that data were produced and released without any administrative interference.

This development, he said, has enabled the National Bureau of Statistics produce statistics with integrity, and in line with the reality on the ground.

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