Nigeria’s food inflation rate climbed for the fifth straight month, reaching 20.31 per cent in July 2026, up from 17.52 per cent in June.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this on Monday in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report for July 2026.
The latest figure represents a 2.79 percentage-point increase and marks the first time food inflation has crossed the 20 per cent threshold since February 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation also accelerated to 5.56 per cent in July, compared with 3.75 per cent in June, representing a rise of 1.82 percentage points.
The NBS attributed the increase to higher 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, among others.
The bureau said Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation in July at 51.36 per cent, followed by Katsina at 30.84 per cent and Zamfara at 30.65 per cent.
On the other hand, Borno recorded the lowest rate at -0.31 per cent, while Nasarawa and Kebbi followed with 6.88 per cent and 12.50 per cent, respectively.
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.
The lowest month-on-month food inflation figures were recorded in Jigawa at -3.68 per cent, Kebbi at -3.67 per cent and Bauchi at -1.85 per cent.
Headline inflation falls
Despite the increase in food prices, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined for the second consecutive month.
The headline rate fell by 0.48 percentage points, from 15.91 per cent in June to 15.43 per cent in July 2026.
The NBS attributed the moderation largely to a decline in core inflation, which dropped from 15.92 per cent in June to 14.97 per cent in July.
Month-on-month headline inflation also eased to 1.57 per cent in July, compared with 1.66 per cent in June.
This indicates that the average rate at which consumer prices increased in July was slower than the pace recorded in June.
The figures, however, highlight the contrasting movement in Nigeria’s inflation components, with food prices continuing to rise sharply even as overall and core inflation moderate.
