Cardoso Sees Relief for Transportation Costs, Food Inflation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has seen that Dangote Refinery’s petroleum products will help moderate transportation costs and ease food inflation pressures.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Cardoso stated that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expects the development to have a positive impact on the economy.

To combat inflation, now at 32.15 per cent, the committee raised the Monetary Policy Rate by 50 basis points to 27.25 per cent.

Also, the Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that food inflation rose to 37.52 per cent in August 2024, driven by increases in prices of food items such as bread, maize, and palm oil.

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Cardoso attributed the upside risk in food inflation to flooding, energy price hikes, scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS), and security concerns in farming communities.

He further commended the Federal Government’s efforts to address insecurity in farming areas and stressed the need for sustained action.

He said:

“On food inflation, the upside risk remains flooding, hike in energy prices, scarcity of PMS, and most importantly, security in farming communities.

“Considering the weight of food in the CPI (consumer price index, which measures inflation) basket, (MPC) members recognise the efforts of the Federal Government in addressing insecurity in the farming community and stressed the need to remain steadfast.

“In addition, the MPC applauded the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to bridge the supply deficit through duty-free import windows for food commodities.”