Nigerian tobacco industry operates within an oligopolistic market structure, with BAT owning 79% of market brands, which allows for price differentiation across brands. However, price variations are also observed between the same brand both within and across regions, which suggests non-market factors could also contribute to the variability. For instance, the sale of cigarettes in sticks and the significant distance between production hubs and retail points, which generates asymmetric information, transportation cost and opportunity for arbitrage.
Policy Brief & Alerts

January 22, 2019
Snapshot of Taxes & Prices of Tobacco Products
Nigerian tobacco industry operates within an oligopolistic market structure, with BAT owning 79% of market brands, which allows for price differentiation across brands. However, price variations are also observed between the same brand both within and across regions, which suggests non-market factors could also contribute to the variability. For instance, the sale of cigarettes in […]
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Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 18)
Inflation
rate continued its upward trajectory in the week under review. Specifically,
the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.39 per cent, from 11.38 per cent
in February to 12.77 per cent in March, 20161. Remarkably, this is the
highest rate since July 2012, representing a 4-year high. While both components
of the CPI rose in the period, the food sub-index was largely the main driver
of the increase in the CPI, with a growth rate of 1.39 per cent between
February and March. The persistent scarcity in petroleum products, especially
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), has increased transportation costs and the price of
food items.
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 2)
Inflation rate rose slightly to 9.4 percent in
November 2015 from 9.3 percent in the previous month. This rise is attributed
to price increase in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Transportation costs
which extends from shortages of petrol across the country. The food
sub-index grew by 0.2 percentage points to 10. 1 percent while, the Core sub-index
declined by 0.2 percentage points to 8.7 percent within the period. The
inflationary up-tick points to the need to curtail the rising food prices by
increasing the supply of petrol in the country.
The Chinese Model Of Infrastructure Development In Africa
Infrastructural
development is a key step in providing a competitive business environment for
African economies. It provides the backbone for poverty reduction strategies
and programmes designed to improve the livelihood of the poor. Africa is in
dire need of infrastructural development. The absence of quality infrastructure
in the continent holds back per capita economic growth by 2 percentage points
each year and depresses firm productivity by as much as 40 percent (Escribano
et al., 2008 and Kelly, 2012). Estimates suggest that around USD 90 billion is
required to close Africas infrastructure gap annually until 2020 (AICD, 2010).
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 5)
The Naira continued to depreciate in the
review week. At the parallel market, naira exchanged for N498/$ on January 27,
2017 and N500/$ on February 3, 2017. Despite the weekly sales of forex to BDCs and
the significant improvements in the external reserves, the naira has continued
to lose value to other currencies. The pressure on the naira has been triggered
by escalating scarcity of forex in the spot market, likely due to
forex hoarding. However, in the preceding week, the CBN sold $660 million in forwards
contract in an attempt to manage liquidity and stabilize the naira.
In the face of growing speculation in the parallel market, the monetary
authority should institute mechanisms that would discourage excessive forex
hoarding among licensed BDC operators. An initiative that monitors transaction
dealings in the parallel market would go a long way in detecting erring BDC
operators.