Nigeria recorded single-digit food inflation of 8.89 per cent in January, after over a decade of high staple food prices, a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
The NBS inflation report showed that the drop in the food inflation rate is the lowest recorded in the last 14 years, when food inflation stood at 8.66 per cent in August 2011.
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The report attributed the slowdown to reductions in the average prices of water yams, eggs, green peas, groundnut oil, soya beans, palm oil, and maize grains.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), in a statement signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, on Monday, stated that while the recent drop in food prices is strengthening consumers’ purchasing power over the long term, it could undermine the sustainability of farmers’ incomes.
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Mr Yusuf said the decline in headline inflation and food inflation suggests that price easing is extending beyond food into other segments of the consumption basket.
He noted that the shift is important for the macroeconomy, which will determine the monetary policy direction, agricultural sustainability, and private-sector investment strategy, adding that
“These indicators suggest the emergence of real disinflation rather than temporary price volatility,” Mr Yusuf said.
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The CPPE boss further warned that sustained declines in food prices would weaken farm incomes, reduce farmers’ investment capacity, and weaken rural purchasing power.
The body also noted that the declines in food prices will also discourage agricultural production, potentially triggering future supply shortages and renewed inflationary pressure.
“There is a critical need to balance consumer affordability with producer sustainability to safeguard national food security,” he added.
The CPPE further explained that the inflation movement is also liable to create room for cautious and gradual monetary easing, which must be data-driven, as core, while 12-month average inflation remains elevated.
He advised the government to employ measures that protect farmers’ sustainable income, ensuring guaranteed prices for selected crops and expanding agro-processing capacity.
He noted that while reduced food prices reveal a gradual recovery in real household demand, sustained disinflation could support gradual interest-rate moderation and improved equity valuations. He added that this will favour long-term productive investment over short-term inflation hedging.
“January outcome is a meaningful transition toward macroeconomic stabilisation, consolidating the gains while protecting agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods would be critical to achieving durable stability and inclusive growth”.
Headline inflation
Also, in the NBS report, headline inflation edged down slightly to 15.10 per cent in January 2026 from 15.15 per cent in December 2025, 0.05 percentage points lower than the December figure.
In the urban index, year-on-year, the inflation rate dropped 15.36 per cent, from 29.45 per cent recorded in January 2025. In rural areas, it dropped to 14.44 per cent, from 25.04 per cent recorded in January 2025.
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On a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2026 was -2.88 per cent, which was 3.42 per cent lower than the rate recorded in December 2025 (0.54 per cent).
The report also showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 127.4 points in January 2026, a 3.8-point decrease from the previous month (131.2 points).
“In January 2026, the headline inflation rate eased to 15.10 per cent, down from 15.15 per cent in December 2025. This means that in January 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2025,” the report noted.
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