Nigeria’s food inflation rate rose for the fifth consecutive month, climbing by 2.79 percentage points to 20.31 per cent in July 2026 from 17.52 per cent in June.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July, noting that the 20 per cent threshold was last recorded in February 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation also increased to 5.56 per cent in July from 3.75 per cent in June.
The NBS attributed the rise to increases in the average prices of several food items, including crayfish, fresh pepper, onions, carrots, rice, water yam, tomatoes, garri, plantain, beef, eggs, guinea corn, ginger and plantain flour.
At the state level, Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 51.36 per cent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 per cent and Zamfara at 30.65 per cent.
Borno recorded the lowest year-on-year food inflation at -0.31 per cent, followed by Nasarawa at 6.88 per cent and Kebbi at 12.50 per cent.
On a month-on-month basis, Adamawa also recorded the highest food inflation at 17.02 per cent, followed by Lagos at 13.48 per cent and Borno at 13.26 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined for the second consecutive month, falling by 0.48 percentage points to 15.43 per cent in July from 15.91 per cent in June.
The decline was driven largely by a moderation in core inflation, which fell to 14.97 per cent in July from 15.92 per cent in June.
Month-on-month headline inflation also eased to 1.57 per cent in July from 1.66 per cent in June, indicating that the pace of increase in the average price level slowed during the month.
The figures, however, highlight a divergence in the inflation trend, with overall inflation moderating while food prices continue to rise sharply.