Business
Price Of Beans Soars In Port Harcourt
The Price of beans and other food items have increased in the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt, in the last two months.
A 100-kilogramme bag of the commodity, our survey showed, rose by about 40 per cent, increasing from between N8,000 and N10,000 it was sold in January to between N13,500 and N16,000 in the metropolis.
Similarly, a basket of tomatoes rose from its January price of N5,000 to between N6,500 and N7,000.
However, prices of garri, rice and vegetable oil have remained stable in the city since the beginning of the year.
A 20-litre gallon of vegetable oil has continued to maintain its price of N4,200 just as a big bag of rice and garri remained at N8,700 and N1,400, respectively.
Mrs Ije Oyibo, a beans seller at Mile 1 market, attributed the high cost of the item to the insecurity in parts of the North.
According to her, the Boko Haram issue is disturbing everybody, including the farmers and the transporters who bring down the commodities to the state.
“The Season also contributed to it; once we enter into the wet season, the price may go further high.”
Also speaking, Mrs Josephine Udoh, a rice seller, said that rice maintained its January price because there was no festivity that would put the commodity in high demand.
Udoh explained that demand often affected the commodity even when most of them were imported.
Mrs Tina Nwike, a tomato seller, said that the price of a basket of tomatoes was prone to daily fluctuation as the supply could not always be determined.
According to her, it is a perishable commodity so it is harvested and transported on a daily basis and the rate of the harvest determines the price.
“That is why, today, the price may be very high and tomorrow, it could come down very low and may rise again the following day.”
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
