Nigeria Food Prices April 2025: Beans Begin Their Historic Decline

April 2025: The First Green Shoots

After eighteen months of relentless upward pressure, April 2025 was the month Nigeria's food markets finally showed meaningful signs of relief.

The trigger: brown beans prices began falling in earnest.

Key Price Data

Commodity	April 2025 (₦/kg)	March 2025 (₦/kg)	MoM Change
Local Rice	₦1,938	₦1,944	−0.3%
Brown Beans	~₦2,420	~₦2,650	−8.7%
White Garri	~₦1,160	~₦1,190	−2.5%
Tomatoes	~₦1,380	~₦1,420	−2.8%
Onions	~₦1,990	~₦2,020	−1.5%

Food inflation: approximately 22.8% — continuing the gradual decline.

Why Beans Fell

Three factors converged to push beans prices lower in April:

Demand destruction reaching a tipping point: At ₦2,800/kg, brown beans had become unaffordable for many Nigerian households. Street food vendors had reformulated recipes, restaurants had reduced portions or substituted other proteins, and households had cut back on bean-based meals. When demand falls this dramatically, prices eventually must follow.

Import flows from Niger Republic: Some cross-border trade of cowpeas from Niger had resumed through Kano and Sokoto. The quantities were not large, but the marginal supply was enough to tip the market.

Trader liquidation: Merchants who had bought beans at high prices in 2024 and stored them were choosing to sell now rather than risk further price declines. This sell-pressure contributed to the drop.

Onitsha Market Report

At Onitsha Main Market — one of Nigeria's largest commodities trading hubs — April 2025 saw some cautious optimism. Beans traders were among the most active, as buyers who had been on the sidelines started returning at lower prices.

One Onitsha beans dealer estimated that bean turnover had increased by about 30% from March levels, even as prices fell. "When price go down small, people come back. The demand was always there — people just couldn't afford the price before."

The Planting Season Watch

April rains arrived relatively on schedule across the Middle Belt and parts of the North-West in 2025. Farmers in Kaduna, Zamfara, and Sokoto reported better access to their farms compared to 2024.

For beans specifically — a critical indicator given its role in the 2025 price story — April 2025 planting conditions were described as favourable. If the crop established well, traders and analysts were beginning to pencil in a significant harvest-season supply increase for October–November.

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Data: NBS Selected Food Price Watch April 2025; Nairametrics market surveys.