Dealers Release Fresh Prices for Rice, Beans, Other Food Items as Inflation Climbs 16.96 Per Cent
- Food inflation in Nigeria surged to 16.96% in May, affecting household incomes and living costs
- Adamawa reports the highest food inflation rate at 29.62%, while Borno sees a decline at -6.53%
- Nigeria's overall headline inflation rose to 15.93%, driven largely by food and non-alcoholic beverages
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
The prices of major food staples consumed across Nigeria have continued their upward trend, with food inflation climbing to 16.96 per cent in May 2026, worsening pressure on household incomes and raising concerns over the cost of living.
New data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that food inflation rose from 16.06 per cent recorded in April to 16.96 per cent in May on a year-on-year basis. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation accelerated by 2.98 per cent.
Source: Getty Images
Rising prices of everyday foods
According to the NBS, the increase was driven by higher average prices of essential food items, including onions, maize, melon (egusi), water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tuber, yam tuber, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea (beans).
The continued rise in prices means Nigerians are paying more for staple foods that form a major part of daily meals, despite efforts to ease inflationary pressures in the economy.
States with highest food inflation
A breakdown of the figures showed that Adamawa recorded the highest food inflation rate on a year-on-year basis at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent.
In contrast, Borno recorded a decline of 6.53 per cent, while Taraba and Bayelsa posted the slowest increases at 1.13 per cent and 5.99 per cent, respectively.
Every month, Bauchi led with 7.73 per cent, followed by Ogun at 6.86 per cent and Jigawa at 6.69 per cent. Niger, Katsina and Gombe recorded declines in food inflation during the month.
Headline inflation also hdges higher
The NBS further revealed that Nigeria's headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May, up from 15.69 per cent in April.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributor to inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 per cent, while transport accounted for 1.70 per cent.
Source: Getty Images
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, increased to 16.82 per cent year-on-year, highlighting persistent price pressures across the broader economy.
The latest figures suggest that while inflation remains below the levels recorded a year ago, millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with rising prices of food and other essential goods.
10 key numbers as Nigeria's inflation rate rises
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria’s inflation rose to 15.69% in April 2026 from 15.38% recorded in March 2026. t
The latest rate is driven by the surge in food, transport, hospitality, and healthcare costs, which pushed up consumer prices nationwide.
NBS disclosed this in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Friday, May 15.
Source: Legit.ng
