Food Inflation Surges Past 20 Percent as Nigerian Households Feel the Heat

Posted by Chinenye on Tue 18th Aug, 2026 - tori.ng

The cost of putting food on the table is rising again, with Nigeria recording a sharp jump in food inflation and crossing a level not seen in years.

(Food Stuffs. Photo by Guardian Nigerian News)

Nigeria's food inflation accelerated sharply by 2.79 percentage points to 20.31 percent in July, climbing from 17.52 percent in June and marking the fifth consecutive monthly rise since March 2026.

The 20 percent threshold had not been breached since February 2021.

Year-on-year food inflation reached 20.31 percent in July 2026 compared with 26.2 percent in July 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 5.56 percent, rising 1.82 percentage points from the previous month's 3.75 percent.

The acceleration was driven by shifting average prices across a range of staples and produce, including crayfish, fresh pepper, fresh onions, fresh carrots, rice, water yam, fresh tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, eggs, guinea corn, ginger and plantain flour.

Regional disparities widened considerably. On a year-on-year basis, Adamawa posted the steepest food inflation at 51.36 percent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 percent and Zamfara at 30.65 percent, while Borno recorded deflation at -0.31 percent, with Nasarawa at 6.88 percent and Kebbi at 12.50 percent showing the slowest increases.

Month-on-month, Adamawa again led at 17.02 percent, trailed by Lagos at 13.48 percent and Borno at 13.26 percent, while Jigawa, Kebbi and Bauchi recorded declines at -3.68 percent, -3.67 percent and -1.85 percent respectively.

By contrast, the overall headline inflation rate declined for the second successive month, falling 0.48 percentage points to 15.43 percent in July from 15.91 percent in June, driven primarily by a deceleration in core inflation to 14.97 percent from 15.92 percent. Month-on-month inflation moderated to 1.57 percent in July from 1.66 percent in June.