Nigeria's food prices are cooling, but beans are going the other way. FoodPrices' own market data for the week of 18 September 2026 shows Beans (Drum) 1 Derica up 1.3% to a mean of ₦878 across 9 Lagos markets, and Beans (Oloyin) 1 Derica up 1.1% to a mean of ₦972 across 9 markets. It was the second consecutive week of increases for beans in a basket where most staples fell.
Two Weeks Running
The rise did not start this week. In the week of 11 September, beans supplied the only two increases of 1% or more in the entire Lagos basket. Beans (Oloyin) 1 Paint rose 2.1% to a mean of ₦4,910 across 10 markets, and Beans (Drum) 1 Paint rose 1.8% to ₦4,460, according to FoodPrices' Lagos market survey, drawn from the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems price tracker. In the week of 18 September, the only item outside beans to rise at all was imported short grain rice, up 1.3%.
Everything Else Fell
The contrast with the rest of the basket is sharp. In the same week of 18 September, Pepper (Rodo) fell 7.4% to a mean of ₦2,500 per kg, medium yam fell 7.3% to ₦2,410 a tuber and Local Shombo fell 4.8% to ₦2,370 per kg. Garri (White) fell 2.2%, Garri (Yellow) 2.1%, onions 1.9% and Tomatoes 1.5%, all means across 10 markets.
The Year-on-Year Gap
The longer view makes the exception clearer. WFP data held by FoodPrices shows national retail cowpeas averaged ₦2,793 per 2.5kg between July and September 2025 and ₦4,500 per 2.5kg from July 2026, a rise of 61.1% year on year. Over the same window, imported rice fell 28.3% from ₦4,881 to ₦3,500 per 2.8kg, local rice fell 28.6% from ₦3,083 to ₦2,200 per 2.7kg, and onions fell 28.7% from ₦421 to ₦300 per 0.5kg. A household that spent ₦2,793 on 2.5kg of cowpeas a year ago now pays ₦1,707 more for the same quantity.
Traders and Shoppers Confirm the Trend
The FoodPrices numbers match what reporters are hearing in the markets. Legit.ng reported in September that traders across major Lagos markets have announced new, higher beans prices and that consumers are cutting the amount of beans they buy. Traders interviewed by Legit.ng at Costain and Oyingbo markets pointed to the off-season supply cycle as the driver.
What It Means for Buyers
For Lagos households, beans is now the one staple in the basket where waiting has cost money rather than saved it. With tubers, pepper and garri easing on the harvest, the relative price of beans against other staples has widened in the weeks when other foods have become cheaper.
Live prices: foodprices.ng/real-time-prices/?brand_name=Oloyin