In the last few months, Business Hilights research team has observed jumping trend in the price of palm oil across the country.
Findings early in the week show that the price of one bottle of 75cl now hovers around N750 as against N250 earlier last year. Also, a bottle of 1.5l, now goes for as high as N1,500 and many Nigerian households cannot afford to pay the high cost.
Already, many women who spoke with our correspondent on the matter say over 75 % of palm oil in the market is being adulterated with a reddish substance called red-oxide which is not a consumable in the first instance.
Business Hilights market survey report was further supported by a recent analysis by the Novus Agro Commodity prices between January and December which showed that the market prices of palm oil and maize tripled, while garri and imported rice doubled in price in the same period.
A 25-litre keg of locally produced palm oil sold for an average of N6,190 in January. The price gradually increased to peak at N18,650 in November, and was sold for N18,390 in December.
In addition, a 100kg bag of maize, which cost N6,000 in January, reached its peak price of N17,515 in December of the same year, increasing by 192 per cent.
The price of a 60kg bag of garri, a major staple food in the country, rose beyond the reach of the poor, recording a 123 per cent rise from N5,940 to N13,240 in the period.
The value of a 50kg bag of imported rice, which was N9,400 at the beginning of the year, doubled towards the end of the year, reaching a peak of N18,275 in November, and selling at an average of N17,710 in December.
Also, the market price of the 100kg bag of beans rose from N20,165 in January to N33,475 by December.
In addition, the cost of a 25-litre vegetable oil more than double from N6,800 in January to N16,500 at the end of the year, recording 143 per cent price increment.
A crate of egg now sells for N1,300 on the average from N900 in the earlier part of 2016.
Analysts say the increasing price of both locally-produced and imported foods was mainly the result of the depreciation of the naira, while the hike in fuel and transport costs was an additional factor.
In the last four straight months, the National Bureau of Statistics has linked galloping inflation to the prices of food stuffs and energy.
The NBS Consumer Price Index data, which measures the average price of goods and services in the country within a specific period of time, the rate of inflation had been on a steady increase since the beginning of 2016.
It would be recalled that in January, the country recorded 8.8 per cent inflation rate, which soared sharply to 11 per cent in February. Inflation continued its steady rise to 12.2 per cent in March, 13.4 per cent in April, 15.1 per cent in May and 16.2 per cent in June.
The CPI also showed that in July, August, September and October, the inflation rate climbed to 17.1 per cent, 17.3 per cent, 17.9 per cent and 18.1 per cent, respectively.
In November, the Consumer Price Index increased by 18.48 per cent year-on-year, following a 18.3 per cent growth in the previous month, and above market expectations of 18.4 per cent.
This showed that the inflation rate accelerated for the 10th month to the highest level since October 2005, as prices continued to rise for imported and locally-produced food items, clothing, housing, utilities and education, among others.
