OREANDA-NEWS. Inflation rates in Nigeria in October 2019 increased to 11.6%, reaching a 17-month high. This was reported on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics on its Twitter page. "In the consumer market, food prices rose in October by 14.1% compared to 13.5% in September", the statistics service said. This is the highest rate of rise in price of goods in the food sector of Nigeria since April 2018.

According to experts, inflation intensified after the closure of state borders by the Nigerian government in August in order to limit the flow of smuggled rice and other agricultural products from neighboring countries to the country. In November, authorities extended the closed border regime for goods and services until January 31, 2020.

A ban on food imports was introduced as part of the Nigeria leadership program to achieve self-sufficiency in basic food products. According to government estimates, importing rice and wheat costs Nigeria $ 4 billion a year, and the country's population, which reaches 200 million people, is largely dependent on imported food. In these conditions, the President of Nigeria, Muhammad Bukhari, set the task to sharply increase the production of agricultural products in the country.