November 15, 2020
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Fresh produce has also been hit by the price rises.
stallholders say they are passing on costs. They don't remember the last time they had to pay that much.
The noisy and busy Oyingbo market in Lagos is a popular place to find a bargain, but it is hard to find now.
A sack of bitter leaf has doubled in the past year, according to Nancy Ike.
She said that people cannot afford things.
It is now possible to buy individual slices of yam, instead of the whole tuber, in another sign of increasing hardship.
Chioma Chukwo noticed the difference while shopping for Christmas food.
I came to the market last year with 20,000 Nigerian dollars. She said she had 30,000 but couldn't buy as much.
Gloria Joseph-Raji is an economist at the World Bank.
In 2015, the country's central bank issued a list of 41 items, including rice, margarine and tomatoes, that would no longer be eligible for foreign exchange from official sources.
The idea was to encourage local production. The authorities added sugar and wheat last April.
The country's land borders were closed in the year 2019.
Ms Joseph-Raji said that the recent high episode of inflation started in 2019.
The flow of food and other products through the borders was reduced because of that.
The borders were re-opened in December of 2020.
Basic economic theory suggests that prices will rise when demand exceeds supply.
"Land borders are open but trade flows are slow," Ms Joseph-Raji said.
"Anything that can be done to improve the trade flows will contribute to driving down prices."
People's lives are being impacted by the high prices. The World Bank says inflation pushed seven million people into poverty in Nigeria. Roughly half of the population is now 100 million.
The increase in inflation may be past its peak, but it is not clear when it will fall to more manageable levels.
As people try to stretch their family budgets, the sachets will be here to stay.
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