Food Crisis Tightens Grip as Staples Record Fresh Price Spikes

​ABUJA — Nigerian households face renewed financial pressure as the prices of essential staples, including tomatoes, beans, garri, and onions, maintained an upward trajectory.

​According to the latest Selected Food Prices Watch report for April 2026, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja on Tuesday, critical food items recorded persistent month-on-month increases, further squeezing consumer purchasing power amid broader macroeconomic headwinds.

​Economic analysts point to a combination of rising fuel-driven transportation costs, currency pressures, and localized security challenges across the agricultural belt as primary drivers keeping food prices elevated.

​Tomato, Ginger, and Palm Oil Prices Surge

​A closer look at the data highlights a sharp monthly spike in perishable items. The average price of 1kg of tomatoes rose by 6.60% month-on-month, jumping from ₦1,104.85 in March 2026 to ₦1,177.92 in April. However, on a year-on-year basis, tomato prices showed a modest relief, declining by 8.23% from the ₦1,283.57 recorded in April 2025.

​Similarly, fresh ginger recorded notable price hikes, increasing by 0.73% within the month to reach ₦5,581.82 per kilogram. Unlike tomatoes, ginger has become significantly more expensive over the long term, surging 12.30% compared to its April 2025 price of ₦4,970.66.

ADVERTISEMENT

​Essential cooking commodities like palm oil also experienced upward movement, with a litre averaging ₦2,396.32—up 0.12% from March and 4.77% higher than the previous year.

​Heavy Staples Show Marginal Monthly Increases, Year-on-Year Dips

​For dry staples and grains, the short-term increases were more subtle, though they offer cold comfort to consumers operating on stretched budgets.

1.Brown Beans: The average price of 1kg of brown beans ticked up by 0.99% month-on-month, moving from ₦1,325.85 in March to ₦1,338.93 in April. Despite this short-term rise, the commodity remains substantially cheaper than last year, boasting a 44.89% year-on-year drop from the ₦2,429.39 peak seen in April 2025.

2.White Garri: A staple household fallback, white garri edged up by 0.93% to ₦808.96 per kilogram in April. On an annual scale, garri prices dropped by 39.86% from the ₦1,345.10 recorded in April 2025.

3.Onions: Onions mirrored this trend, climbing 0.98% over March to ₦1,164.39 per kilogram, while tracking a 22.56% decline compared to the April 2025 price of ₦1,503.56.

Industry Note: Regional baseline assessments reveal that while improved agricultural supply chains have driven down annual costs for certain dry items compared to 2025’s hyper-inflationary peaks, the escalating cost of logistics and domestic fuel has effectively wiped out those gains on a month-to-month basis.​

Geopolitics of the Food Basket: Regional Disparities

The NBS report exposed vast regional price disparities across Nigeria, largely dictated by proximity to production hubs, security situations, and local transport networks.​State-by-State Price Extremes

Zonal Variations

​Zonal data underscored the high cost of food distribution to the southern parts of the country. The South-South and South-East geopolitical zones recorded the highest average costs for tomatoes (₦1,561.10), white garri (₦944.58), and onions (₦1,735.53). Conversely, the North-West and North-Central zones enjoyed the lowest market rates due to direct proximity to agrarian fields, with North-Central tracking the lowest onion prices at ₦911.40.

​The South-West emerged as the most expensive market for fresh ginger, hitting a peak zone-average of ₦6,812.92, contrasted sharply against the North-East, where the same quantity cost a mere ₦881.12.

​As food prices remain a primary pressure point for the domestic economy, stakeholders continue to urge federal and state governments to address underlying structural failures—most notably, transport infrastructure bottlenecks and ongoing agrarian insecurity—to prevent a deeper cost-of-living crisis.