Prices of food items rose highest in Ebonyi, Bayelsa and Edo States in Nigeria in May, the consumer price index report released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown.

The report revealed that on a month on month basis, food price inflation was highest in Ebonyi at 3.43 per cent, Bayelsa at 3.21 per cent and Edo at 2.74 per cent in the month.

On the other hand, Zamfara (0.22 per cent) and Akwa Ibom (0.21 per cent) recorded price deflation or negative inflation rates (general decrease in the general price level of food).

The report said in May, food inflation on a year on year basis was highest in Abuja at 18.13 per cent, Osun at 17.40 per cent and Imo at 17.13 per cent.

Abia with 13.46 per cent, Bauchi 12.97 per cent and Kaduna 12.97 per cent recorded the lowest rise.

According to the report, the headline consumer price index in May rose 12.4 per cent from a year earlier, compared with 12.3 per cent in April. Cost increased by 1.17 per cent in the month compared from 1.02 per cent in April.

The report said this rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of oil and fats, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, vegetables, bread and cereals and fruits.

The NBS said food sub-index in May rose by 15.04 per cent from a year earlier, compared to 15.03 per cent in April. On month on month basis, it increased by 1.42 per cent in May up to 0.24 per cent points from 1.18 per cent recorded in April.

All items inflation

The report said In May, all items inflation on year on year basis was highest in Rivers at 14.69 per cent, Bauchi 14.91 per cent and Ebonyi, Kogi and Plateau at 13.87 per cent, while Benue 11.13 per cent, Adamawa 11.10 per cent and Kwara 10.58 per cent recorded the slowest rises in headline year on year inflation.

However, on a month on month basis, all items inflation was highest in Bayelsa at 2.33 per cent, Delta 2.03 per cent and Ebonyi 2.00 per cent, while Oyo 0.48 per cent, Akwa Ibom had 0.47 per cent and Zamfara 0.35 per cent recorded the lowest rises.

Less farm produce

“All items less farm produce, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 10.12 per cent in May, up by 0.14 per cent when compared with 9.98 per cent recorded in April 2020,” NBS said.

“On month on month basis, the core sub-index increased by 0.88 per cent in May, as this was down by 0.05 per cent when compared with 0.93 per cent recorded in April 2020.”

According to the report, the increases were recorded in prices of pharmaceutical products, medical services, repair of furniture, hospital services, passenger transport by road, motor car, bicycles, maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, passenger transport by sea and inland waterways, paramedical services, motorcycles and hairdressing salons and personal grooming establishment.

It said, the average 12-month annual rate of change of the index was 9.27 per cent for the 12 months period ending May, this is 0.1 per cent points higher than the 9.17 per cent recorded in April.

Methodology

The NBS said CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day to day living.

It said the construction of the CPI combines economic theory, sampling and other statistical techniques, using data from other surveys to produce a weighted measure of average price changes in the Nigerian economy.

It said the weighted measure was used to capture the importance of the selected commodities in the entire index.

The survey methodology generates 3774 all items indices for all states and the FCT, NBS said in the report.

SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES