By Aliyu Galadima
Nigeria’s food market recorded notable price declines across several key household staples in March 2026.
This is according to the latest Selected Food Price Watch report released by the National Bureau of Statistics ,NBS.
The report showed significant year-on-year reductions in the prices of beans, eggs, garri, and onions, offering some relief to households battling high living costs.
Despite the annual declines, however, several commodities still recorded modest month-on-month increases, indicating that short-term market pressures remain.
The NBS report showed that prices of several staple food items declined significantly compared to March 2025, although some recorded slight increases from February 2026 levels.
The average price of a crate of eggs fell by 20.12% year-on-year to N6,127.62 from N7,670.56
Brown beans dropped by 49.32% year-on-year to N1,325.85 per kilogram from N2,616.26
White garri declined by 41.19% year-on-year to N801.54 from N1,362.96
Onion prices fell by 19.63% year-on-year to N1,153.14 per kilogram
The report also showed that fresh ginger remained on an upward trend, rising by 20.46% year-on-year to N5,541.25 per kilogram due to continued supply constraints and strong demand.
On a month-on-month basis, most commodities recorded slight increases, reflecting persistent transportation, logistics, and energy-related pressures in local markets.
The NBS report highlighted significant disparities in food prices across states and regions, with southern states generally recording higher prices for major staples.
Taraba recorded the highest average price for eggs at N6,999 per crate, while Niger posted the lowest at N5,610.04
Oyo State recorded the highest beans price at N1,937.20 per kilogram, while Taraba had the lowest at N745
Abia recorded the highest garri price at N1,075.45 per kilogram, while Plateau posted the lowest at N513.78
Abia also had the highest onion price at N2,115.67, while Kwara recorded the lowest at N829.91
Regional analysis showed the South-East remained one of the most expensive zones for several staple commodities.
The South-East recorded the highest average egg price at N6,521.47
The South-West and South-South posted the highest beans prices at N1,770.57 and N1,762.49 respectively
The South-South recorded the highest average garri price at N942.68
The South-East also posted the highest regional onion price at N1,714.81
The North-West and North-Central regions generally recorded lower prices across most commodities.
The decline in staple food prices comes despite broader inflationary pressures in Nigeria’s economy.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 15.38% in March 2026, according to the NBS
food prices in Nigeria have remained persistently high despite government interventions and food imports valued at N7.65 trillion in 2025.
Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics ,NBS, shows that food and beverage imports increased from N3.83 trillion in 2023 to N6.58 trillion in 2024 and further to N7.65 trillion in 2025.
In 2024, the Federal Government introduced a zero-duty levy on selected food imports to ease soaring food prices.
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