The ongoing harvest of grains and other staples is expected to stabilize prices of food commodities. Nevertheless, after an initial decrease in August, prices of a few staples (red beans, sorghum, maize) in some markets are showing a slight increase over the last 3 months in Borno state. Prices in Yobe increased sharply compared to October.

These trends are linked to increased transport costs associated with fuel price hike and continued rising annual inflation recorded country wide. Christmas demand may trigger an increase in price of some food commodities.
Prices of red beans and onions also increased as a result of reduced availability. Onion prices doubled in some Yobe markets.

70 percent of the cost of the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) for a family of five increased slightly from 18,965.73 Naira (October) to 19,310.56 Naira (November) in Maiduguri and Jere in Borno State. Likewise, the SMEB increased by 4 percent from 16,681.35 Naira (October) to 17,380.79 Naira (November) in Damaturu, Yobe State.

The inflation rate rose by 14.23 percent in October 2020 as against 13.71 percent recorded in September 2020. Furthermore, the Naira depreciated in the parallel market to 482 NGN/USD in late November from 461 NGN/USD in October 2020.