Nigeria’s inflation rate has surged to a new high of 34.19% for June 2024, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of State Statistics (NBS).
This marks a 0.24% increase from May 2024’s inflation rate of 33.95%.
“In June 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 34.19% relative to the May 2024 headline inflation rate which was 33.95%,” stated the NBS in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which tracks the average change over time in the prices of goods and services consumed for day-to-day living, released on Monday.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.40% points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023, which was 22.79%.”
The NBS also noted a month-on-month increase in the inflation rate for June 2024, which stood at 2.31%, a 0.17% rise from May 2024’s rate of 2.14%.
This indicates a higher rate of price increases in June 2024 compared to May 2024.
Food inflation also saw a significant rise in June 2024 compared to May 2024. The month-on-month food inflation rate for June 2024 was 2.55%, showing a 0.26% increase from May 2024’s rate of 2.28%.
This increase was driven by higher prices for food items such as groundnut oil, palm oil, water yam, cocoyam, cassava, tobacco, catfish, croaker, mudfish, and snail.
In response to the rising prices of essential commodities, the Federal Government has implemented several measures to address the challenge.
These include suspending duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas for 150 days and approving the procurement of 2,000 tractors and 1,200 trailers.
Additionally, a committee has been established to find solutions to the ongoing food crisis.
Experts attribute the rising inflation to issues such as insecurity, lack of equipment, and other factors affecting food production in Nigeria.