For many Nigerian families, a trip to the market is no longer simply about deciding what to cook for the week. It has become an exercise in arithmetic calculating what can be bought, what has to be left behind and which bills can wait.
“I used to buy yam, tomatoes, pepper, chicken and other things without thinking too much about the price. But they have become more expensive. Now, before I pick anything, I check the price and calculate what I can afford,” Damilola, a Lagos-based lady who lives alone, said.
She said the money that once covered a week’s groceries now barely lasts a few days. She has had to reduce the quantities she buys and prioritise items that can stretch across several meals.
Her experience reflects a wider reality facing Nigerian households as food prices continue to rise.
The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that Nigeria’s food inflation rate rose to 20.31 per cent in July 2026, from 17.52 per cent in June.
The bureau attributed the increase to changes in the average prices of several food items, including fresh pepper, fresh tomatoes, onions, eggs, rice, garri and plantain.
A survey of food prices across markets in different parts of the country provides a more practical picture of the pressure reflected in the NBS figures.
In Lagos, a paint bucket of fresh pepper sells for about N9,000, up from N7,000, while tomatoes cost about N12,000, compared with N6,000 a year ago. Onions, which sold for about N6,000 to N7,000 a year ago, now cost around N12,000.
Plantain sells for about N2,000 to N3,000, depending on the size, while a crate of eggs costs about N6,000. A bag of rice sells for N70,000, chicken for about N6,000 and a bag of garri for N38,000.
In Ogun State, a small basket of tomatoes sells for N10,000, compared with N6,000 previously, while peppers cost N7,000, up from about N5,000 a year ago. A crate of eggs sells for about N6,000, compared with N5,800 previously, while a bag of rice costs N65,000, up from N55,000.
A bag of garri costs about N43,000, while chicken sells for N6,500, compared with N5,500 previously.
The cost of food items is going up across the country
In Abuja, a small bucket of fresh pepper sells for about N20,000, while a basket of tomatoes costs between N15,000 and N20,000.
A bag of rice sells for between N58,000 and N60,000, while a bag of garri costs about N26,000.
A big bunch of plantain sells for about N7,000, while a crate of eggs sells for between N6,000 and N6,500.
The increase in food inflation came despite a slight moderation in Nigeria’s headline inflation, which fell to 15.43 per cent in July.
The figures suggest that while the broader pace of price increases may be easing, food remains a significant source of pressure on households.
“It is not always about what I feel like eating anymore, but what will fit into my budget,” Damilola added.
Behind the price movements are households making difficult choices, cutting back on non-essential spending, buying smaller quantities and putting savings on hold to meet rising daily expenses.
‘SOMETIMES, THE MONEY I PLAN TO SAVE GOES TO ANOTHER PRESSING NEED’
Bukola, a single mother and trader in Ogun, said her monthly income fluctuates between N200,000 and N220,000, depending on business performance.
She spends about N90,000 to N110,000 a month on food for herself and her two children.
But food is only one of several expenses competing for her income.
“Electricity alone can take about N50,000 a month, and there are always unplanned expenses that come up,” she said.
Bukola said she spent between N60,000 and N70,000 a month on food about a year ago.
According to the trader, the prices of almost all food items have since increased, particularly tomatoes, pepper, onions, chicken, fish and yam.
She said rising expenses had also made it difficult to save.
“Saving has become much more difficult. I have two children living with me, and the younger one is still in school, so I have to pay school fees and provide money for school needs,” Bukola said.
“There are also electricity bills, transportation and unexpected expenses. Sometimes, the money I planned to save ends up being used to settle one of these expenses.”
For a young couple earning a combined N650,000 monthly, food has also become a significant expense.
The couple said they spend about N50,000 to N60,000 a week preparing soups and nearly N100,000 in some months when restocking food items, and more when refilling gas, recharging electricity, buying water and clothing.
“We save, but by the end of the month, we use it to save ourselves. We just keep money now to cover expenses like healthcare, light, and ongoing house projects,” they said.
‘THERE ARE NO MORE CRAVINGS’
Some Nigerians say the recent cost of food items is depleting their savings.
Blessing, a young worker living alone in Lagos, earns N120,000 a month.
She currently spends between N45,000 and N55,000 monthly on food, mostly soups, as she usually has foodstuffs at home.
“About a year ago, I used to manage like N30,000 to N35,000 a month for food,” Blessing said.
She added that yam, tomatoes, chicken, onions and pepper had become noticeably more expensive, with tomatoes particularly difficult to buy in the quantities she used to.
“It’s the month that I am restocking my foodstuffs in the house with other groceries that I use almost all my salary,” she added.
The rising cost of food has also forced her to reconsider other expenses.
“I have had to reduce spending on clothes, outings, and other personal expenses. Even now, there are no more cravings. I plan my spending more carefully before the month begins,” Blessing said.
She said rising living costs had also made saving more difficult, as a larger portion of her income now goes towards food, internet data subscriptions, transportation and other essential expenses, leaving little to set aside, especially since she also pays rent.
Abdulwasiu, a family man who earns N350,000 monthly, said he now spends about N130,000 on food, compared with N80,000 a year ago.
He said pepper, meat and fish, cooking oil, yam, spaghetti and poundo yam had become particularly expensive.
He has also changed where he shops, opting for larger markets where retailers buy directly from wholesalers.
To cope with rising food costs, Abdulwasiu said he has cut spending on eating out and discontinued his DSTV subscription.
“I save but some months, I am unable to due to some important expenses,” he said.
Nigeria’s N70,000 minimum wage is increasingly being tested by the cost of meeting basic household needs.
A worker earning the minimum wage would need to spend a substantial share of their monthly income to afford basic food items, leaving little for transportation, electricity, rent, healthcare and other essentials.
‘POOR ROADS, HIGH TRANSPORT COSTS DRIVING FOOD PRICES’
Ifeanyi Onwuachu, managing director (MD) of Janksmay Global Services and a logistics and supply chain expert, said high transportation and supply-chain costs are among the factors driving food prices in Nigeria.
He said a significant portion of the price consumers eventually pay for food is generated after the product leaves the farm, as it moves through the supply chain to markets and retailers.
According to Onwuachu, costs associated with haulage, fuel, vehicle maintenance, loading and offloading, delays, multiple handling points, market charges and informal levies can significantly increase the final price of food.
“Take tomatoes, pepper or other highly perishable produce as examples. The farmer may have produced the commodity relatively cheaply, but getting it from a producing community to major consumption centres such as Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt introduces several additional costs,” the expert said.
“There is the direct cost of hiring the truck, fuel, vehicle maintenance, loading and offloading, road conditions, delays, multiple handling points, market charges and sometimes informal costs encountered during transit.”
Onwuachu said poor road infrastructure further increases the cost of moving food.
“A journey that should take a predictable number of hours can take considerably longer. For perishable commodities, every additional hour matters,” he said.
WHAT BUSINESSES CAN DO
Onwuachu said businesses can adopt several measures to reduce transportation costs while longer-term infrastructure improvements are pursued.
The supply-chain expert identified freight consolidation as one option, saying farmers, traders and distributors moving goods along the same routes could combine their cargo to improve truck utilisation and spread transportation costs across larger volumes.
He also recommended better route and load planning, urging businesses to track vehicle locations, journey times, recurring delays and opportunities to secure return cargo.
Onwuachu also called for greater use of technology in the logistics sector, noting that digital platforms can connect cargo owners with available trucks, improve vehicle utilisation, provide visibility over shipments, support route optimisation and reduce the time trucks spend idle while searching for their next load.
