A 50kg bag of Oloyin beans at Lekki-Jakande Market closed the week of June 1 at N73,333, up from N55,000 in the week of January 26. That is a 33.3% increase over roughly four months, and it confirms beans as the single most expensive staple movement tracked at the market this year. The climb was not a straight line. The price held at N55,000 through early February, jumped to N77,000 by the week of February 16 and stayed on that plateau through mid March, then eased back to N73,333 by June. A household buying a full bag now pays N18,333 more than it would have at the January reading.
Drum beans tell an even sharper story at the top end. The week of June 1 produced the first verified capture of drum beans in a 50kg bag at this market, at N128,333. Because there is no earlier reading for that pack at Lekki-Jakande, this is a first price point rather than a measured increase, but it sits firmly in the premium tier that beans have entered across Lagos. A 25kg bag of drum beans was captured at N64,167 in the same week, and white beans debuted at N108,333 for a 50kg bag, which places the three main bean types in a clear order of cost.
Not everything rose. Royal Stallion rice in a 50kg bag fell from N66,000 in late January to N60,000 by June, a drop of 9.1%, after sitting at N70,000 for most of February and March. Imported short grain rice in a 50kg bag eased from N60,000 to N58,000 over the same window. White garri in a paint bucket softened from N1,833 in late January to N1,533 by June, a fall of 16.4%, after holding at N2,000 through the spring. For buyers, the rice and garri easing offers a small offset against the bean increases, though the relief is modest next to the size of the bean moves.
The week of June 1 also brought a wide set of first captures on the rice shelf, including Caprice rice and Vitali long grain rice at N60,000 and N65,000 for a 50kg bag, and several short grain options clustered between N58,000 and N67,500. These are first verified prices at the market and not movements from an earlier base.
Lekki-Jakande and Ajah were the two Lagos markets captured in the week of June 1, which makes a direct same week comparison possible. For drum beans in a 50kg bag, Ajah Market sat at N135,000, which is N6,667 above the N128,333 recorded at Lekki-Jakande. White beans showed a wider gap, with Ajah at N120,000 against Lekki-Jakande at N108,333, a difference of N11,667 for the same 50kg pack in the same week. Oloyin beans ran the other way, with Lekki-Jakande at N73,333 sitting N3,333 above Ajah at N70,000. A buyer moving between the two markets can save real money on white and drum beans by choosing Lekki-Jakande, while Ajah is the cheaper option for Oloyin.
The local picture fits the national one. After food inflation fell to 8.89% in January, its lowest reading in more than fourteen years according to Nairametrics, the rate climbed back to 16.06% by April and moved above the headline rate for the first time in eight months. The National Bureau of Statistics food price watch flagged beans, garri, tomatoes and onions among the items rising month on month through the spring, even as several staples remained far below their year earlier levels. Beans have been at the centre of that reacceleration, and the Lekki-Jakande numbers show how a January floor gave way to a far higher plateau.
Live readings for every product tracked here are available on the Lekki-Jakande real time prices page, and the full history of these movements can be followed on the historical prices tool and the grain price index.