Nigerian households are paying less this year for their Christmas menu compared to 2024.
BusinessDay’s analysis shows that the average cost of preparing rice and stew, a key staple on the Christmas menu, which includes frozen chicken and vegetable oil, will cost an average of N20,500 this year, an 18 percent decrease from last year’s N25,000.
Food inflation, which accounts for the bulk of household spending, eased to 11.08 percent in November 2025 from 39.93 percent in the same period of 2024, the lowest in over seven years, according to data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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“Food prices this year are far cheaper than those of last year,” said Blessing Idemudia, a 53-year-old woman, who was at Mile 12 Market to make purchases.
“My family is celebrating Christmas this year. Last year, we couldn’t celebrate it because of the high cost of food,” Idemudia said.
Folashade Adeyemo, a mother of three and seamstress in Ojodu, said the drop in food prices means several low-income families like hers will be celebrating Christmas.
She explained the family’s financial struggle during this festive season to BusinessDay, noting that the continuous drop in food prices offers her household great relief.
“My family is celebrating Christmas and the New Year. We could not do it last year because prices were skyrocketing. Now, it is declining,” she said.
The average prices of major staples have declined in 2025, easing the burden on cash-strapped Nigerians who have been dealing with accelerating inflation since the 2020 pandemic and the country’s worst cost-of -living crisis.
The price decline is ascribed to bumper harvests recorded across major food-producing states and the high rate of food imports, which accounted for N3.34 trillion in the first nine months of 2025.
BusinessDay surveyed markets in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, and found that the average price of a 50 kg bag of foreign parboiled rice now sells for N54,500, depending on the brand and size of the grain, as against N120,000 sold in the same period of 2024, indicating a 54.5 percent drop in price.
A 50kg bag of local parboiled rice, which was sold for an average of N100,000 a year ago, now sells for an average of N60,000, indicating a 66 percent increase in price.
A 25-liter vegetable oil sells for N70,000 as against N80,000 sold last year in December, a 12.5 percent drop in price.
For fresh tomatoes, a big basket sells for N40,000 as against N40,000 sold last year in December, while a small basket sells for N28,000. A bag of pepper now sells between N45,000 and N50,000.
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Prices of onions have declined by 17.8 percent in a year, as a 100kg bag of onions sells for an average of N230,000, as against N280,000 in December last year, while a small bag now sells for N160,000.
With food prices dropping to their lowest in more than seven years, consumers are buying more as their purchasing power has been boosted by easing inflation, said Uchenna Uzor, a consumer expert, in response to questions.
