The Surging Cost of Preparing Nigerian Jollof Rice: A 220% Increase

The preparation cost of Nigeria’s iconic Jollof rice has experienced a staggering surge of 220.7 per cent, soaring to N13,106 in September 2023 from N4,087 in July 2016, as revealed in a recent Jollof Rice Index report by SBM Intelligence.

The report attributes this sharp increase in the cost of preparing Jollof rice to Nigeria’s alarming food inflation rate, which escalated to 31.52 per cent in October.

This spells implications for the average Nigerian household, especially with the minimum wage standing at N30,000, where a substantial 43 per cent would be required to prepare a single dish of Jollof Rice.

Spanning 13 markets across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the report unveils Wuse II in Abuja as the most expensive location for making Jollof rice, commanding a price of N15,900. Conversely, the cheapest markets were found in Onitsha, Anambra, priced at N10,280.

Discussing the dire situation, Ikemisit Effiong, Partner of SBM Intelligence, conveyed to Channels Television, “This is a new high. The situation tells the sad story of Nigeria’s inflation rate. All of the constituent ingredients of Jollof Rice Index are at multi-year high as families continue to cut cost or manage the pressure by either reducing the quantity of rice or food generally or deploying substitutes.”

Additionally, Media Talk Africa reported an expected 32 per cent increase in rice prices, further exacerbating the cost burden on households.