The National of Bureau of Statistics on June 14, 2016 confirmed what many Nigerians already knew. Prices of items in the market are going up. In the last few months, many Nigerians have been complaining about the rising prices of especially, tomatoes, which have become too expensive for many Nigerian homes currently.
The NBS announced that average inflation rate across the country moved up 15.6% in May, which was higher than the inflation rate of 13.7% recorded in April. This is the highest inflation recorded by the country since 2010.
The NBS attributed the increased in prices to the increase in electricity tariff and price of imported food items. While electricity tariff has gone up by an average of 47% in the early part of this year, the prices of imported food items have also shot up by an average of 18.6% in May, mainly due to the depreciation in the value of the naira in the black market where most of people who import these items get their dollar supply.
Transportation prices have also gone up within the period with the increase in the price of petrol by more than 100%, resulting in a steep rise in the price of transportation across the country. There has also been increase in the prices of Kerosene and Diesel, all leading to a higher cost of living for many Nigerians.
Some of the imported items that witnessed significant increase in prices in May include; Fish, Vegetables and Fruits, as well as Bread and Cereals.
However, not all Nigerians are equally affected by the price increases. Nigerians in living in the urban areas are the most affected by the price rise, with inflation in urban areas rising by 17.2% in May while inflation in the rural area went up by just 12.1% in the same period. So, if you want a lower cost of living, you perhaps consider moving to rural areas.
