Garri, normally the calm staple, produced one of the week's surprises. A 50kg bag of white garri firmed to ₦27,000 at Ajah Market in the week of June 1, while Lekki-Jakande Market held at ₦22,000, a same-week gap of ₦5,000 that makes Ajah the dearer market on the most affordable bag in the food basket.
Ajah Climbs, Lekki-Jakande Holds
The two markets diverged. Ajah's white garri bag rose from ₦20,000 in the week of February 23, a climb of 35.0%, while Lekki-Jakande barely moved, firming to ₦22,000 from ₦21,500 in the week of March 16, up just 2.3%. Yellow garri was almost level between the two in June, ₦21,000 at Ajah against ₦20,833 at Lekki-Jakande, a difference of under ₦200, though Ajah's yellow bag had risen 5.0% from February while Lekki-Jakande's eased 3.1% from March.
Retail Ran Cheaper at Ajah
At the paint bucket, the picture flipped. A paint of white garri eased to ₦1,300 at Ajah and to ₦1,533 at Lekki-Jakande, and a paint of yellow garri was ₦1,600 at Ajah against ₦1,833 at Lekki-Jakande. So the small buyer pays less at Ajah while the bag buyer pays more, the same bulk-versus-retail split that runs through the beans data this week.
Against the Rest of Lagos
Garri's dated backdrop shows just how far Ajah's bag now stands out. When other markets were last captured between January and April, a 50kg bag of white garri ran ₦18,000 to ₦22,000 across Agege, Ayobo, Ikotun, Iyana Ipaja, Mushin, Oshodi, Ikorodu and Ketu. Ajah's ₦27,000 June bag is the dearest white garri in the comparison and sits clearly above that earlier range, while Lekki-Jakande's ₦22,000 holds at the top of it.
The Bigger Picture
Garri is processed from locally grown cassava, so it usually carries less exposure to the exchange rate than imported staples, which is why a 35% jump at one market stands out. The NBS named garri among the staples driving month-on-month food price movements in April 2026, and the FAO tracks cassava and processed cassava products as a gauge of local food resilience. Ajah's move is worth watching to see whether it is a single-market spike or the start of a broader cassava-side firming.
Live prices: Ajah Market and Lekki-Jakande Market.