Christmas seasons are usually associated with the spirit of sharing. One major commodity which dominates the highest percentage amongst the ‘sharing’ portfolio is usually Food items. This tradition has transitioned over the years and has gradually started becoming a lifestyle.
Hence, food items/food vendors usually capitalize on these traditions (Christmas sharing) in order to make reasonable profit before the year runs out. Nigeria’s 8-month consecutive inflation slow-down in 2021, finally came to a halt in December as yuletide pressures pushed inflation up 0.2 percentage points from 15.40 percent recorded in November to 15.63 percent in December of 2021.
This was according to the recent inflation report released by the National Bureau statistics (NBS) on Monday. The rise in inflation is said to be largely dependent on the surge in ‘buying pressures’ during the December festivities.
Food inflation rose from 17.20 percent in November to 17.37 percent in December; but on a month-on-month basis, there was an increase of 2.19 percent. Core inflation maintained an upward trend as it increased from 13.85 percent in November to 13.87 percent in December which was largely a reflection of the impact of currency depreciation and liquidity challenges in the FOREX market.
However, 2020/2021 being a peculiar year was accompanied by perennial insecurity in the food baskets of the country and that subsequently drove inflation rates above the roof during the course of the year. Even though a better part of the year witnessed decline in inflation rates, December however, was an exception. The reason for this increase could be accrued to the buying/demand pressures that accompany the festivities of the Christmas/Yuletide season.
The month of December is usually considered the month when families unite. Families around the country and the globe at large usually make plans around the month of December to unite as it represents the one time in the year when they are free from the hustles and bustles of work. Transport agencies thus use this opportunity to earn some extra profit. The demand pressure associated with this period pushes prices of transportation higher than any other month of the year.
A transport agency official, who opted to remain anonymous for personal reasons stated that the pressures associated with the season usually motivates them to increase prices in order to dampen the pressures incurred by them during the festive seasons.
“The demand pressures that come with this season are always scary. Most times we usually receive threats from some customers, so we try to increase prices above normal rates to dissuade customers.
“Despite these increases, the number of customers we still get are usually alarming,” he said. “It is not always about the profit most of the time, it’s just a sort of control mechanism.”
Data from NBS revealed that Urban sector transport CPI increased from 391.2 in November to 396.4 in December. It could also be recalled last year that, as a result of insecurity on the roads and rails, air transportation increased by almost 60% during the festive periods. These factors are among some of the major factors that contributed to the rise in transport costs during the various Christmas festivities in the last couple of years.
The reason why inflation figures always rise in December can simply be accrued to the buying pressures associated with the Christmas festivities,” Harry said.
The continuous rise in December inflation rates is not a trend that is going to be predictable with any level of certainty or would be controlled adequately by any government policy in the near future. However, if anything is certain, it’s that this trend of ‘December-rising-inflation’ is a trend that isn’t going to end anytime soon.
