The Centre for the Promotion of Private Entrepreneurs (CPPE) has decried the high food prices in Nigeria, stating that it underscores the continuing vulnerability of the economy to supply-side shocks.
Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer, CPPE, in his commentary on the July 2025 inflation rate, said that while progress has been made in moderating headline and core inflation, the persistence of food and month-on-month price increases highlights unresolved structural weaknesses.
For him, there is need for a coordinated mix of monetary, fiscal, and structural interventions to consolidate recent gains and steer the economy toward sustained stability.
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“The July 2025 inflation figures present a mixed outlook for the Nigerian economy, with notable improvements in some key indicators but lingering risks that demand policy attention,” Yusuf said.
Headline inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month, easing from 22.22 percent in June to 21.88 percent in July, a deceleration of 0.34 percent. Month-on-month food inflation also moderated, falling from 3.25% in June to 3.12 percent in July.
“These developments reflect a gradually stabilizing macroeconomic environment, supported by exchange rate stability, improved investor confidence, and the lingering impact of import duty waivers on key staples such as rice, maize, and sorghum. The base effect, given the high inflationary conditions in 2022, has also been a strong factor in the recent downward trend.
“Despite these gains, pressures persist. Month-on-month headline inflation rose from 1.68 percent in June to 1.99 percent in July. The outlook calls for caution and sustained reforms in key priority areas including : foreign exchange stability, structural reforms, fiscal discipline and monetary innovation.
He stressed the need to address constraints such as high logistics and import costs, insecurity, climate risks, and port inefficiencies that elevate costs and sustain inflation, adding the need to ensure prudent government spending and managing liquidity injections effectively to prevent fueling inflationary pressures.
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Yusuf also noted the need to move beyond conventional tightening tools (CRR, MPR) toward more creative measures to manage liquidity in the economy, given that the lending rate in the economy had risen above 30 percent for most businesses.
