Following the upward trend in the country’s inflation record, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed concerns and recommended to the government to focus efforts on ways to boost confidence and attract Foreign Direct Investments.
Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics announced the rise of inflation to 27.33 percent in October.
This was from 26.72 percent in the previous month.
Sequel to this, LCCI in a press statement signed by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, implored the government to address the challenges inhibiting domestic production and ease the bottlenecks to the distribution of goods within the country.
The LCCI also urged the government to continue to address the problems of insecurity and other factors affecting agriculture productivity in the country to improve food supply.
In addition, the LCCI urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to prioritise the stability of the country’s currency and adopt the right policy mix to ensure price stability.
It said: “Following ten consecutive months of acceleration, the battle against inflation must be intensified by the CBN.
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“The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about the continued uptick in inflation (year-on-year), and particularly notes that it squeezes consumers’ spending and saving as well as constrain manufacturing productivity. We anticipate economic agents will deploy strategies that will mitigate inflationary pressures.”
The LCCI recalled that Nigeria’s inflation rise has continued in recent times.
The latest (27.33 percent) represents 0.61% points increase, reflecting higher food and fuel prices and the consistent depreciation of the Naira.
It indicated that the annual consumer price inflation soared by 6.24 percent points when compared to 21.09 recorded in the corresponding month in 2022.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 1.73 percent in October following a 2.1 percent surge in the prior month.
Food inflation rate, LCCI said, increased to 31.52 percent in the month, implying 0.88 percent points increase from 30.64 percent in the previous month and 7.80 percent points increase compared to 23.72 percent points in the corresponding month in 2022.
Similarly, core inflation increased to 22.58 percent, indicating 0.73 percent point and 5.12 percent points increase when compared to 21.84 percent and 17.46 percent in September 2023 and October 2022 respectively.
With respect to contributions of items, LCCI stated that data revealed food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the highest to the price increase at 14.16 percent followed by housing water, electricity, gas and other fuel (4.57%), clothing and footwear (2.09%), transport (1.78%) and furnishings and household equipment and maintenance (1.37%).
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