Hamza Muhammad Uba
A mix of Ramadan demand and logistics costs has activated a sharp spike in Nigerian food prices, ending a short-lived era of single-digit inflation.
Market surveys conducted by BusinessDay around Lagos revealed that prices of certain staples used for jollof rice and stew – two common dishes in households during Ramadan celebration – have risen above their prices in January of 2026.
A 50kg bag of rice currently sells for around N61,000, up from an average of N56,000 in January. The price, however, depends on brand and grain size. While a big basket of fresh tomatoes currently sells for an average of N41,000, up 17 percent from its value in January (N35,000).
For fresh pepper, the same rising trend is noted during the survey. A bag of fresh pepper now sells for roughly N46,000 against around N30,000 in January.
“Tomato prices are a bit high now because many farmers are not farming due to the fast, but after the fast, they will return to the farm, and prices will stabilise,” a Lagos tomato trader said.
Although prices of rice and tomatoes have increased, prices of other key jollof rice ingredients like vegetable oil and palm oil have dropped during the period.
A 25 litres keg of vegetable oil is sold for roughly N55,000, down from around N66,000 in January, while palm oil prices have dropped to N48,000 from about N58,000.
Bose Idowu, a trader at Ketu Market, told BusinessDay that: “Prices of some items are surging while some have remained relatively stable.”
However, Idowu noted that the prices of essential staples are expected to surge further owing to a hike in fuel prices that would invariably affect the costs of transporting food commodities from the northern region, where they are most grown, to markets in the south.
