EMPTY BASKETS, EMPTY PLATES: HOW FOOD INFLATION IS CHANGING MEALS IN PORT-HARCOURT

At Mile 1 Market in Port Harcourt, a paint bucket of garri that sold for about ₦2,200 towards the end of 2025 now costs between ₦3,800 and ₦4,200, depending on whether it is yellow or white. For customers who once bought a full bucket, the rising price has changed the way they shop. Many now ask for half measures.

Across markets, homes and university communities in Port Harcourt, rising food and transportation costs have changed what people buy, what they cook and how they manage limited incomes.

Interviews conducted on November 4, 2026, reveal how traders, households and students are adjusting their food choices to cope with higher costs. All interviewees are identified by pseudonyms or initials to protect their privacy.

MARKET TRADERS: SMALLER PURCHASES, HIGHER COSTS

At Mile 1 Market, Mama Blessing, a grains and staples retailer who has traded for 12 years, said customers were increasingly buying smaller quantities.

The price of garri had risen from approximately ₦2,200 for a paint bucket in late 2025 to between ₦3,800 and ₦4,200 in November 2026. The price difference between yellow and white garri determined the final amount customers paid.

The cost of rice had also increased. A 50kg bag of local rice sold for about ₦72,000 at the depot in August 2026. By the last week of October, the same quantity was selling for approximately ₦88,000.

According to Mama Blessing, customers who previously bought full paint buckets now requested half-paints or smaller measures. Some had switched from foreign rice to local varieties, while others bought broken rice when the cost of their preferred options became difficult to manage.

The pressure was not limited to the cost of purchasing stock. Moving five bags of goods from a truck drop-off point to her shop cost about ₦2,000 in late 2025. That expense had risen to between ₦4,500 and ₦5,000 by November 2026.

She also faced higher generator fuel, storage and security-lighting expenses. She called for more stable fuel prices and improved security for farmers to help ease pressure on food supply and prices.

At Oil Mill Market, Uncle Chidi, a trader in cooking oil and condiments, described a similar change in customer behaviour.

A standard 25-litre jerry can of vegetable oil that cost approximately ₦48,000 in early 2026 was selling for between ₦68,000 and ₦72,000 in November.

Customers who previously purchased four-litre bottles increasingly requested smaller packs or one-litre refills. Some had reduced the quantity of oil used in cooking, while others had stopped buying tin tomatoes regularly, opting instead for loose ground pepper, fresh tomatoes and onions.

Uncle Chidi attributed the rising cost of his goods partly to exchange-rate movements affecting imported raw materials, higher diesel costs for transport trucks and local levies charged on delivery vans entering Port Harcourt.

He said logistics companies delivering goods to Oil Mill charged nearly twice what they had charged in November 2025. He called for reduced levies on food-delivery vehicles and support for inter-state agricultural transportation.

HOUSEHOLDS: FOOD COMPETES WITH OTHER ESSENTIAL NEEDS

For many families, the challenge was finding enough money to buy food without neglecting other responsibilities.

Mrs Anita Obinna, a primary school teacher living around Garrison and Aba Road, said the amount her family of five spent on weekly groceries had increased considerably.

Towards the end of November 2025, the family spent between ₦20,000 and ₦25,000 on weekly groceries. By November 4, 2026, that amount had risen to between ₦45,000 and ₦50,000.

She said her salary had remained unchanged, forcing the family to reduce spending on non-food items to accommodate the higher cost of groceries.

The price of eggs had also changed the household's eating habits. A crate of 30 eggs that cost about ₦3,200 in late 2025 was selling for between ₦5,800 and ₦6,000 in November 2026.

Eggs, which the family previously ate about three times a week, were now mainly reserved for her youngest child. The family had also reduced its meat consumption, relying more on crayfish and smaller quantities of frozen fish.

She said the family had switched from branded rice to loose, unbranded varieties and eaten more swallow, including garri and plantain flour, because these meals helped them feel full for longer.

School fees, Band A electricity bills (the tariff category associated with the highest daily supply commitment) and daily transportation costs further limited what the family could spend on food. She called for greater price stability on essential food items.

For Mr Kenneth Eke, a self-employed technician living in Rumuokoro with his wife and two toddlers, food expenses had also taken a larger share of household resources.

His family's weekly food spending had increased from approximately ₦15,000 in late 2025 to about ₦28,000 in November 2026.

His income was irregular and depended on the jobs he secured on any given day. He explained that food costs were leaving him with less money for other needs. Describing the pressure in terms of his daily earnings, he said, "Around 60% of my daily cash income goes straight to food now, leaving very little for maintenance or savings."

The rising cost of baby cereal, milk and fresh tomatoes had added to the pressure. According to him, the price of baby milk changed almost every month.

To manage expenses, the household bought food in exact portions, stocked up on dry staples where possible and prepared a large quantity of soup on Sundays to last until Wednesday.

Rent, medical care for the children and generator fuel continued to compete with food for the family's limited resources.

STUDENTS: SKIPPING MEALS AND SHARING PROVISIONS

The pressure was particularly visible among students who depended on allowances from parents, relatives or small personal earnings.

Chukwudi N., an off-campus student of the University of Port Harcourt in Choba, received a monthly feeding allowance of ₦15,000, equivalent to approximately ₦500 a day.

At nearby eateries, a basic plate of rice cost between ₦1,200 and ₦1,500. With his daily allowance unable to cover the cost of a single meal at those prices, he had stopped buying prepared food regularly.

Instead, he pooled money with a lodge mate to buy ingredients and cook. He described his eating routine as "1-0-1": breakfast, no lunch and dinner. In the afternoon, he sometimes took soaked garri with groundnuts.

To supplement his allowance, he earned between ₦6,000 and ₦10,000 monthly from freelance graphic design work, creating advertisements for other students using his phone.

For Tamara P., a student at Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, her weekly allowance of ₦10,000 came from her sister.

At the beginning of 2026, the money could cover her feeding for seven days. By November, it lasted only four or five days.

She had cut down on snacks and fruits, relying more on rice, noodles and garri. She also ate twice daily, with a late breakfast around 11:30 a.m. serving as both breakfast and lunch.

Her meals were mostly simple dishes such as noodles, boiled yam and stew. She sometimes shared provisions with hostel mates and requested emergency top-ups when her allowance ran out before the next payment.

WHAT THE NATIONAL FIGURES REVEAL

The price increases reported by the interviewees were substantially higher than Nigeria's September 2026 national food inflation rate of 19.59 percent year-on-year. For example, the reported price of garri had increased by approximately 73 to 91 percent, while eggs had risen by about 81 to 88 percent. Obinna's weekly grocery spending had more than doubled. These are item-specific and household-level comparisons based on interview accounts, not independently verified market averages, and they do not measure the same basket of goods as the national inflation index.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its September 2026 Consumer Price Index report released on October 15, reported food inflation at 19.59 percent year-on-year, compared with 19.57 percent in August. Food prices fell 1.55 percent month-on-month in September.

The two measures describe different movements. The year-on-year rate compares food prices in September 2026 with prices in September 2025, while the month-on-month figure compares September with August 2026. A monthly fall does not mean food prices have returned to their earlier levels.

The Central Bank of Nigeria's September 2026 Household Expectations Survey provides further insight into household spending priorities.

The survey recorded a food expenditure index of 56.1 points, ahead of other household goods at 28.3 points and education at 27.6 points. Food was therefore the leading household spending priority among the categories reported.

The survey also recorded an increase in the average price-perception index for selected items, from 23.0 points in August to 33.5 points in September. Its price-perception table showed that the food-specific index rose from 11.1 to 26.9 points over the same period. However, food recorded the lowest price-perception index among the selected categories in September.

The traders' comparisons run from late 2025 or early 2026 to November 2026, while the NBS annual inflation rate compares September 2026 with September 2025. The figures therefore describe different periods and different measures.

For Chukwudi, the difference is immediate: his daily feeding allowance is approximately ₦500, while a basic plate of rice at nearby eateries costs between ₦1,200 and ₦1,500.

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REPORTING NOTE: This report is based on field interviews conducted on November 4, 2026, at Mile 1 Market, Oil Mill Market, Garrison/Aba Road, Rumuokoro, the University of Port Harcourt community in Choba, and Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo. Interviewees are identified by pseudonyms or initials to protect their privacy. Market prices and household spending figures reflect individual interview accounts and are not presented as independently verified market averages.