Food Inflation Snaps Six-Month Decline, Climbs to 12.12% in February Amid Rising Staple Prices
Nigeria's food inflation rate has reversed a six-month downward trend, rising sharply to 12.12% year-on-year in February 2026, up from 8.89% in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The increase marks the end of a brief period of single-digit food inflation — the first in over a decade — which had offered temporary relief to households following post-harvest supply improvements and earlier disinflation efforts. February's figure remains significantly lower than the 26.98% recorded in February 2025, reflecting a year-on-year moderation of 14.86 percentage points. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation accelerated to 4.69% in February, a stark contrast to the -6.02% deflation (price drop) seen in January. This monthly surge was attributed to heightened demand for certain staples during the early days of Ramadan, alongside upward pressure from key items such as beans, yam flour, cassava tuber, c...