ABUJA — Nigeria’s food market recorded a fresh uptick in March 2026, as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a month-on-month increase in the prices of key staples including eggs, beans, garri, onions and ginger.
The development was contained in the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch report for March 2026, released in Abuja.
According to the report, the average price of a crate of eggs (30 pieces) declined by 20.12 per cent year-on-year, dropping from N7,670.56 in March 2025 to N6,127.63 in March 2026. However, on a month-on-month basis, the price rose by 2.00 per cent from N6,007.35 recorded in February 2026.
Similarly, the average price of 1kg of brown beans fell sharply by 49.39 percent year-on-year, from N2,616.26 in March 2025 to N1,325.85 in March 2026. On a monthly basis, however, the commodity recorded a 1.41 percent increase from N1,307.44 in February.
The report also showed that the average price of 1kg of white garri dropped by 41.19 percent year-on-year, from N1,362.96 in March 2025 to N801.40 in March 2026, but rose by 1.38 percent month-on-month from N790.62.
Onions recorded a 19.63 percent year-on-year decrease, falling from N1,434.85 in March 2025 to N1,153.14 in March 2026. Month-on-month, however, the price increased by 1.59 percent from N1,135.12 in February.
In contrast, fresh ginger posted a significant annual increase of 20.46 percent, rising from N4,600.23 in March 2025 to N5,541.25 in March 2026, with a marginal month-on-month increase of 0.61 per cent from N5,507.43.
Palm oil prices declined by 4.71 percent year-on-year, from N2,511.77 in March 2025 to N2,393.38 in March 2026, but rose slightly by 0.27 percent from N2,386.96 in February.
A breakdown by states showed that Taraba recorded the highest average price of eggs at N6,999.00, while Niger posted the lowest at N5,610.04.
Oyo had the highest average price of brown beans at N1,937.20, while Taraba recorded the lowest at N745.
Abia topped the chart for white garri at N1,075.45, while Plateau recorded the lowest price at N513.78.
For onions, Abia recorded the highest price at N2,300.76, while Kwara had the lowest at N829.91.
Ekiti posted the highest average price of a bottle of palm oil at N2,801.95, while Abia recorded the lowest at N2,012.54.
Zonal analysis indicated that the South-East recorded the highest average price of eggs at N6,521.47, followed by the North-East at N6,375.91, while the North-West had the lowest at N5,908.61.
The South-West and South-South recorded the highest average prices of brown beans at N1,770.57 and N1,762.49 respectively, while the North-West recorded the lowest at N851.11.
For white garri, the South-South led with N942.68, followed closely by the South-East at N942.04, while the North-Central recorded the lowest at N670.16.
The South-East and South-South also recorded the highest average prices of onions at N1,714.81 and N1,266.80 respectively, while the North-Central had the lowest at N907.76.
