Nigeria’s food inflation rate rose for the fifth consecutive month, climbing to 20.31 per cent in July 2026 from 17.52 per cent in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The 2.79 percentage-point increase marked the highest food inflation rate since February 2021, when the figure last crossed the 20 per cent threshold.

The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index report for July 2026, noting that food inflation also rose sharply month-on-month to 5.56 per cent in July from 3.75 per cent in June.

The increase was driven by 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.

On a year-on-year basis, Adamawa recorded the highest food inflation rate 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 rate 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 increase at 17.02 per cent, followed by Lagos at 13.48 per cent and Borno at 13.26 per cent.

However, the broader inflation picture showed some improvement, as Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell for the second consecutive month to 15.43 per cent in July from 15.91 per cent in June.

The decline was driven largely by a slowdown in core inflation, which dropped to 14.97 per cent in July from 15.92 per cent in June.

Month-on-month headline inflation also moderated to 1.57 per cent in July, compared with 1.66 per cent in June, indicating that the average price level increased at a slower pace than in the previous month.

The latest figures therefore present a mixed picture of Nigeria’s inflation trend: headline inflation is moderating, but food prices continue to rise sharply, placing sustained pressure on household purchasing power.