The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that rising food prices remain the biggest challenge to Nigeria’s inflation outlook despite the slight decline in the country’s headline inflation rate in June.
In a policy brief released on Thursday, the private sector advocacy group said the latest inflation figures suggest that while macroeconomic conditions are gradually stabilising, persistent structural problems continue to fuel food inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
The CPPE’s position comes a day after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June, from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, food inflation rose to 17.52 per cent year-on-year, while month-on-month food inflation climbed sharply to 3.75 per cent, indicating renewed pressure on the prices of essential food items.
“The dominant concern in the report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation,” the CPPE said.
