The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised the federal government to sustain all cost reliefs initiated to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
Director-General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, said this in a statement while reacting to the July inflation figure on Friday in Lagos.
Nigeria’s inflation dropped to 33.40 per cent in July 2024 from 34.19 per cent in June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
While pointing out that the slight moderation recorded in the month was the first since December 2022, she described it as a reflection of the ease in price pressures due to a slowdown in demand and some monetary and fiscal policy interventions.
Almona further said it was good news to the business community as some respite was expected from the biting effect of the unbearable high interest rates businesses have had to cope with.
The LCCI, therefore, reiterated the need for the many programmes and policies initiated to tame inflation and stabilise the exchange rate to be sustained and extended to impact more economic players, thereby multiplying the economic effect in the medium term.
“Also, measures such as the several foreign exchange market reforms to boost supply, the decision to make provision for direct crude supply to local refineries, and the transition to renewable energy should continue,” she said.
Almona added that to extend the recorded ease in prices, the country must attend to the root causes of food insecurity.
She noted that measures such as empowering low-skilled farmers with access to required information on crop production, market prices, and technology must be deployed, in addition to provision of fertilizer, and extension services among others.
“Beyond food crops, poultry and fisheries are key drivers of food inflation as common food items like beef, fish, eggs, and chicken have recorded consistently high prices in recent months, contributing significantly to food inflation in the country.
“The newly created Ministry of Livestock Development is expected to play a critical role in addressing this shortage of poultry and fisheries at a time like this,” she added.
