The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has raised concerns over a sharp rise in the price of beans, despite a slight decrease in the cost of other food commodities.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning segment on Thursday, Rewane noted that while the prices of onions and rice have dropped to N115,000 and N110,000 per bag respectively, the cost of beans has skyrocketed. “Beans have gone out of storage and out of reach,” Rewane stated.
Market reports indicate that a bag of beans is currently being sold for as high as N180,000, while smaller quantities like a paint rubber cost N13,000 and a derica goes for N3,000.
Rewane attributed this surge in prices to recent flooding that affected key agricultural states like Borno, Bauchi, and Sokoto. Additionally, increased transportation costs due to the hike in petrol prices—from N600 to N1,000 per litre—have contributed to the price rise.
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Predicting a further increase in food inflation, Rewane expressed hope that duty waivers on expected imported commodities would eventually moderate prices. “Despite everything, we think that food inflation will still increase temporarily before these imported goods come in,” he added.
President Bola Tinubu, during his Independence Day speech on October 1, assured Nigerians that his administration is committed to restoring peace in the North, allowing displaced farmers to return and boost food production.
Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 32.15% in August, with the nation grappling with one of its worst economic crises, following the removal of fuel subsidies and unification of foreign exchange rates earlier this year.
