Rice has fallen further for households buying by the derica than for those buying by the bag. FoodPrices Nigeria data from the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems market survey shows the mean derica of Nigerian Manufactured Rice at ₦808 across 6 markets in the week of 23 October 2026, down from ₦1,075 in the second week of January. That is a ₦267 or 24.81% decline over ten months.
Small Measures Fell Furthest
The pattern holds across all three types of rice. The imported long-grain derica fell from ₦1,117 to ₦875, down 21.64%, and the imported short-grain derica from ₦1,014 to ₦806, down 20.58%. By the paint, imported long-grain fell 24.79% from ₦5,833 to ₦4,388, Nigerian Manufactured Rice 18.55% from ₦5,300 to ₦4,317 and imported short-grain 19.15% from ₦5,250 to ₦4,244.
The bags fell by less. The 50kg bag of imported long-grain rice fell from ₦64,000 to ₦53,375, a 16.60% decline. Nigerian Manufactured Rice fell 14.29% from ₦59,833 to ₦51,286 per 50kg, and imported short-grain fell 10.39% from ₦56,688 to ₦50,800.
What the Fall Means at Home
For a household that buys two derica of local rice a day, the daily cost has dropped from ₦2,150 in January to about ₦1,617 now, a saving of about ₦16,000 over 30 days. A restaurant buying four 50kg bags of imported long-grain rice a month now spends ₦213,500, against ₦256,000 at January's mean, a monthly saving of ₦42,500.
October Brings a Pause
The decline has slowed to a halt this month. The 50kg bag of Nigerian Manufactured Rice held at exactly ₦51,286 in all four October surveys, as did its 25kg bag at ₦25,643 and its paint at ₦4,317. The 50kg bag of imported long-grain rice edged up 0.23% in the latest week, from ₦53,250 to ₦53,375, and the short-grain paint rose 1.33% from ₦4,189 to ₦4,244. The cheapest 50kg bag of local rice is ₦48,000 at Agege Market and the dearest is ₦54,000 at Ajah Market. For imported long-grain, the range runs from ₦52,000 at Agbalata Market to ₦54,000 at Ile-Epo Market.
What Other Surveys Say
Legit.ng reported on 9 September that the 50kg bag of imported long-grain rice fell from ₦70,000 in January to ₦55,000 in September, a 21.4% decline, and that Nigerian manufactured rice fell from ₦60,000 to ₦53,000. Those figures agree with the direction in FoodPrices Nigeria data; the steeper percentage in Legit.ng's series reflects a higher January starting price. A later Legit.ng report on 7 October found rice prices fell across all major categories between August and September, including the derica of Nigerian manufactured rice, from ₦864.58 to ₦833.33. On 29 September, Legit.ng cited AGRA data showing the national average price of milled rice in August was 31.8% below a year earlier, and described the trend as a correction rather than a crash, which matches the flat October readings in Lagos.
Live prices: foodprices.ng/real-time-prices/?brand_name=Nigerian+Manufactured+Rice