The Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives, Bismarck Rewane has said the prices of food in Nigeria are expected to drop by September 2024.
The popular economist disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday.
Speaking on the latest Central Bank of Nigeria’s interest rate hike to 26.75 percent, Rewane said that inflation is expected to moderate from September.
He predicted a marginal moderation of Nigeria’s inflation from 34.19 percent to between 32 percent and 28 percent at the end of the year.
According to him, the coming on board of Dangote Refinery from August, the 150-day zero import on the food program and the new N70,000 minimum wage will impact inflation.
He added that the Naira is projected to appreciate against the dollar in the foreign exchange market in the coming months.
“This is the inflation spiral. The inflation was increasing sharply, started stagnation now and it is expected to start falling. When I said falling it is not significant. From 34.19 to about 32 percent towards the end of the year to about 28 percent.
“One of the major stocking factors is logistic cost. It is a good thing that Alhaji Aliko Dangote has come to the rescue. Another thing, now it is a law, N70,000 is the new Minimum wage.
“What does all of this mean to the ordinary man?
“What we are seeing is that prices of food commodities will drop or are expected to drop if nobody corners it. Rice for example, the current price is N82,000 and will come down to N70,000 by September, Wheat from N59,000 to N50,000, and Beans from N150,000 to N110,000.
“Food import duty waiver will tamper inflation. Dangote Refinery Fuel product will come on August 15th, it will guarantee supply not price.
“The new Minimum wage will impact inflation only marginally. High interest rates will help increase savings. The Naira will recover from N1,700 per dollar to N1500 in September”, he said.
Recall that the CBN on Tuesday hiked inflation by 50 basis points to 26.75 percent amid efforts to tackle rising core inflation and food inflation which stood at 34.19 percent and 40.87 percent in June 2024.
This development comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government announced plans to suspend import duty on foods for 150 days.
