Medium Sized Yam posted the largest mean price decline of any item tracked in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems' Lagos market survey for the week of 24 July 2026, falling 9.6% from ₦3,380 to ₦3,055 per tuber.
This Week's Mean Price
The mean was calculated across ten Lagos markets. The cheapest tuber was recorded at ₦2,150 in Ile-Epo Market, while the priciest reached ₦3,500 in Mile 12 Market, a gap of more than ₦1,300 between the two ends of the city.
Why This Move Stands Out
Yam has been one of the year's clearest upward movers. Vanguard reported in April 2026 that tubers selling for between ₦1,200 and ₦2,000 in the same period of 2025 had climbed to between ₦2,500 and ₦3,500, with traders citing seasonal supply shortages and higher sourcing costs. A trader at Oyingbo Market quoted in that report expected the pressure to continue, saying tubers then selling at ₦2,500 to ₦3,000 could go for close to double by August, because the new planting season had only just begun and fresh harvests were still limited. Premium Times reported in early July 2026 that yam prices in Enugu markets had risen steeply, with a medium-sized tuber of old yam selling between ₦3,000 and ₦5,000 against ₦2,000 to ₦3,500 in May, with traders there pointing to transport costs, seasonal supply and insecurity in northern farming areas.
The Cost Pressure That Should Have Pushed It Higher
What makes this week's fall unusual is that it happened while transport costs were rising sharply. Yam reaches Lagos by road from producing regions, so fuel is a direct input into its shelf price.
Vanguard reported that Dangote Refinery resumed naira petrol sales on 23 July at ₦1,215 per litre, an increase of ₦140 or 13.02% from ₦1,075, after a week-long suspension during which it priced products in dollars. Daily Trust and Politics Nigeria reported pump prices reaching as high as ₦1,400 per litre nationwide, and Legit.ng reported commuters on some routes paying 20% to 40% more. The refinery linked the increase to crude costs, with Brent trading around $93.90 per barrel amid renewed Middle East hostilities.
A 9.6% fall against that headwind implies a substantial supply-side move, large enough to more than offset a rising cost to bring tubers to market. The most plausible explanation is seasonal. Nigeria's new yam harvest typically reaches markets from around August, and early volumes can move prices quickly in the wholesale hubs that feed Lagos. The Central Bank of Nigeria pointed the same way in its 21 July Monetary Policy Committee statement, when it said it expected inflation to moderate partly on improved food supply as the harvest season approaches.
That said, no reporting so far confirms that early harvest volumes reached Lagos markets in the survey week, so the cause remains an inference. Whether this is the start of the seasonal turn or a single-week movement should become clearer in the next two surveys.
For live, continuously updated prices across all markets in this survey, visit https://foodprices.ng/real-time-prices.
Sources: Vanguard on Lagos yam prices, April 2026 (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/04/yam-prices-rise-across-lagos-markets-as-traders-consumers-lament/). Punch carried the same survey (https://punchng.com/yam-prices-rise-in-lagos-consumers-lament/). Premium Times on Enugu yam prices, July 2026 (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/893300-price-of-yams-soars-in-enugu-markets.html). Fuel prices via Vanguard (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/07/dangote-refinery-resumes-petrol-loading-in-naira-at-n1215-per-litre/), Daily Trust (https://dailytrust.com/transport-fares-rise-as-petrol-hits-n1400-l/), Politics Nigeria (https://politicsnigeria.com/2026/07/25/petrol-price-hits-n1400-per-litre-nationwide/) and Legit.ng (https://www.legit.ng/business-economy/economy/1721177-transport-costs-soar-dangote-marketers-raise-petrol-prices/). CBN MPC July 2026 via Tribune (https://tribuneonlineng.com/cbn-retains-interest-at-26-5-percent/).