Nigeria Food Inflation Falls to 14-Year Low at 8.89% as Price Pressures Ease

Nigeria’s food inflation rate has dropped to its lowest level in more than 14 years, offering a rare moment of relief for Africa’s largest economy. According to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation fell sharply to 8.89 per cent year-on-year in January 2026. The figure marks the first single-digit reading since August 2011 and reflects a dramatic slowdown from the 29.63 per cent recorded in January 2025.

The data show a significant cooling in food prices over the past year, with a 20.73 percentage-point decline. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation contracted by 6.02 per cent in January, compared to a modest 0.36 per cent drop in December 2025. The bureau attributed the slowdown to falling prices of key staples such as rice, cassava, maize, beans, yam, eggs, vegetable oils, and beef. After peaking at 40.87 per cent in June 2024, food inflation has now fallen by nearly 32 percentage points, signaling a broad easing of supply pressures.

Headline inflation also showed marginal improvement, easing to 15.10 per cent in January from 15.15 per cent in December — defying earlier projections that it could climb to 19 per cent. The Consumer Price Index declined to 127.4 from 131.2, indicating a 3.8-point decrease in the general price level. On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation is now 12.51 percentage points lower than the 27.61 per cent recorded in January 2025, making it the lowest level since November 2020.

However, business leaders have urged caution despite the encouraging figures. Members of the Organised Private Sector argue that while the pace of price increases may be slowing, the cost of living remains painfully high for many Nigerians. The National Vice President of the National Association of Small-Scale Industrialists attributed the moderation to increased agricultural production and relative exchange rate stability. Yet, the Director-General of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises insisted that everyday market realities tell a different story, questioning how far N10,000 can truly go in today’s markets.

State-level data further reveal uneven price trends across the country, with some states recording significantly higher inflation rates than others. While the January report signals broad-based easing in price pressures — particularly in food costs — elevated 12-month averages suggest that the scars of the prolonged inflation surge between 2022 and 2024 are still embedded in the economy. For millions of households, the big question remains whether slowing inflation will soon translate into tangible relief at the market stalls.

source: punch