The cost of making Nigeria's staple stew has more than doubled in Lagos within a year, underscoring the deepening cost-of-living crisis in Africa's most populous nation. According to the PricePally 2024 Stew Index Report, preparing a pot of beef stew now costs ₦17,817, a staggering 121.05% increase from ₦8,060 in 2023, as households grapple with surging food prices and inflation.

The report reveals that the cost of stew ingredients has surged dramatically between 2023 and 2024. A pot of chicken stew now costs ₦15,034, more than double the ₦7,085 price from the previous year, while the cost of goat meat stew skyrocketed by 153.03%, rising from ₦8,227 to ₦20,811. Even a protein-free stew saw a steep increase, climbing from ₦4,387 in 2023 to ₦11,317 in 2024.

The sharp rise in stew preparation costs reflects a broader trend of escalating food prices in Nigeria due to supply chain disruptions and naira depreciation. Food inflation stood at 24.08% in January 2025, down from 39.84% recorded in December 2024, after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) implemented a rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) that altered the weighting of key components in the inflation basket.

The challenge hits low-income earners the hardest. With the new minimum wage at ₦70,000 per month, a minimum wage earner would now spend 25.45% of their salary to cook just one pot of beef stew per month—a significant burden compared to 24.42% under the old minimum wage of ₦33,000.

The prices of key ingredients have also seen significant increases. Tomatoes, which cost ₦1,506 per kilogram in July 2023, climbed to ₦2,625 by September 2024, representing a 21.7% year-on-year increase. Onions saw a dramatic jump from ₦971.86 per kilogram in 2023 to ₦3,000 in September 2024, a staggering 200% increase in just nine months.

Experts attribute the surge in tomato prices to seasonality and poor infrastructure, leading to high post-harvest losses. "For tomatoes, one definite factor is their seasonality," said Basil Abia, co-founder of Veriv Africa. "When they're out of season, it's super expensive to get them. Tomatoes also suffer from very high post-harvest losses due to our poor infrastructure—from transportation to storage. On average, tomatoes can have a 40% to 50% loss ratio, and in some parts of Nigeria, that loss can be as high as 80%."

Beef and goat meat prices have also seen significant increases, with beef costs surging from ₦4,050 per kilogram in January 2024 to ₦6,500 by September, and goat meat prices rising from ₦3,856 in July 2023 to ₦8,500, an increase of over 120% in a year. The lack of cold storage trucks and inadequate transportation networks contribute to substantial post-harvest losses, driving up prices.

The meat supply chain faces even greater structural hurdles, with poor transportation networks and inadequate cold storage infrastructure significantly reducing the volume of meat that reaches consumers, leading to higher prices. In 2023, Nigeria produced 1.551 million metric tons of meat, yet the supply chain inefficiencies drive up costs.

Broader economic factors, including foreign exchange volatility and high fuel prices, are also exacerbating the crisis. "Foreign exchange has spiked from around ₦700 per dollar just 18 months ago to approximately ₦1,500 today," Abia said. "This, combined with high fuel prices and the costs incurred from multiple road checkpoints, which can add up to ₦150,000 or more, transmits directly to the final food prices."

While inflation shows signs of slowing, supply chain disruptions could keep food prices higher, leaving policymakers wary of sustained relief. The report highlights the need for urgent action to address the underlying structural issues driving up food prices and exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.