The price of a 50kg bag of foreign rice has surged to over N88,000 across major stores in Nigeria, which is 22.2% higher than the N72,000 recorded earlier in the month.
In the same vein, locally made rice increased by almost the same rate (21.8%) to N67,000 in just less than a month. This information comes from findings by the Nairametrics Research team. Compared to the same period last year, the price of foreign rice has increased by 244%, while local rice has witnessed a 209% price increase in the same period.
During a conversation with Mrs. Olanike, a rice dealer at Daleko market in Lagos, she explained that the recent rise in the price of local rice has been largely driven by the surge in the price of foreign rice, which is a result of the depleting value of the naira and the continuous ban on the item.
It’s worth noting that the exchange rate between the naira and other currencies has depreciated significantly in recent times, losing over 45% and 30% year-to-date at the official and parallel market, respectively.