The Rising Cost of Stew: A Reflection of Nigeria’s Cost-of-Living Crisis
The cost of preparing stew in Nigeria has increased dramatically, with the PricePally 2024 Stew Index Report indicating a 121.05% rise, causing significant financial strain on households. This trend reflects broader food inflation trends driven by supply chain disruptions and naira depreciation, impacting especially low-income earners. Severe increases in ingredient prices, combined with economic factors, fuel concerns about the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
In Lagos, Nigeria, the cost of preparing the traditional beef stew has increased by 121.05% over the past year, now reaching ₦17,817 compared to ₦8,060 in 2023. This surge in costs highlights the ongoing cost-of-living crisis faced by households as food prices and inflation escalate significantly. According to the PricePally 2024 Stew Index Report, the price of chicken stew has also more than doubled, now costing ₦15,034, while goat meat stew has risen by 153.03%, up to ₦20,811. Even a stew without protein saw a notable increase from ₦4,387 to ₦11,317.
These escalating prices reflect a larger trend of increasing food costs in Nigeria, largely due to supply chain issues and the depreciation of the naira. As of January 2025, food inflation stood at 24.08%, a decrease from 39.84% in December 2024, following adjustments by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Low-income earners are particularly affected by these rising costs. With the minimum wage currently set at ₦70,000 per month, an individual earning this amount now spends 25.45% of their salary on just one pot of beef stew, compared to 24.42% at the previous minimum wage of ₦33,000.
The prices of key ingredients have also soared. Tomatoes, for example, increased from ₦1,506 per kilogram in July 2023 to ₦2,625 by September 2024, reflecting a 21.7% rise. Onions experienced an even more drastic increase, jumping from ₦971.86 per kilogram to ₦3,000 in the same time frame, marking a staggering 200% rise in just nine months.
Basil Abia, co-founder of Veriv Africa, attributes the high prices of tomatoes to their seasonality and severe post-harvest losses due to inadequate infrastructure. Reports indicate that these losses can reach as high as 80% in certain regions. Additionally, the price of beef has climbed from ₦4,050 per kilogram in January 2024 to ₦6,500 by September, and goat meat prices have skyrocketed from ₦3,856 to ₦8,500, representing an increase of over 120% in one year.
Lack of cold storage capacity exacerbates the problem, as high temperatures during transportation from farms to urban markets lead to significant post-harvest losses. This situation, combined with a high demand for onions essential in making stews, contributes to soaring prices.
Meat supply chains encounter systemic challenges; even though Nigeria produced 1.551 million metric tons of various meats in 2023, transportation inadequacies and insufficient cold storage reduce the available quantity for consumers, which in turn drives prices higher.
Broader economic issues also compound the difficulty, with inflation resulting from insufficient local production and volatility in the foreign exchange market. The exchange rate has surged from approximately ₦700 to around ₦1,500 per dollar in just 18 months, while fuel costs and checkpoints add to transportation expenses, ultimately impacting food prices.
Currently, while inflation appears to be slowing, ongoing supply chain issues may maintain elevated food prices, leaving policymakers concerned about the prospect of sustained relief for affected populations.
The significant increase in the cost of stew preparation in Nigeria underscores the broader crisis of rising food prices influenced by a multitude of factors including supply chain disruptions and currency depreciation. Households, especially low-income earners, face the brunt of this financial burden as they allocate a substantial portion of their earnings to basic food staples. The ongoing inflation, compounded by inefficiencies in infrastructure and economic instability, raises concerns about the future affordability of essential food items.
Original Source: techcabal.com
