1.0 Introduction
The scope of this research is restricted to statistical analysis on price and quantities of staple foods for past ten years (2001 — (20011) in Owerri Municipal Council. Staple food as the only major food item needed in the home which nourishes the body as well creates health problem when in short supply has to be technically looked and measured.
This project work is aimed at using least square method and moving average to measure the relative changes in prices of staple goods in Owerri Municipal Council as the case study of this project, for the period of ten years (2001 — 2011) which has not been stable, hence it has been increasing geometrically in Nigeria.
It is against this background of these instabilities in the prices of staple foods that there is need for a scientific study in measuring. This project work is made up of five chapters which include the following:Chapter one, which contains statement of problem, purpose of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study and definition of terms.
Chapter two deals with the review of related literatures by various writers and researchers and their various contributions. Chapter three contains the method used in collecting the data which is research design methodology, which included sources of data sampling procedure, method of analysis. Chapter four deals with data presentation and analysis such as the overview of data collected.
Finally, chapter five contains the discussion of the findings from chapter four, summary, the conclusion and necessary recommendation, then the references.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
In Nigeria, the environment of the market will never be stable, and the ability to adapt to this environmental change is crucially important to most customers. One way of doing this is to study the variation in prices of staple foods. Moreover, to have a better economy there is need to study the instabilities of staple foods which determines the consumptions pattern of any customer in any country including Nigeria.
Therefore, the government will not restrict to promulgate laws or even enforces laws on the high prices of staple foods without first studying its instabilities.
Furthermore, this is not only a problem to the government, the consumer themselves always like to have an elaborate ideas about the price of staple foods, it is as a result of this that the prices of staple foods are now a cause of worry to all consumer that both the government and consumer has tried to study and ameliorate this menace in the prices of staple foods.
It is as a result of these problems that the need to study this yearly increase in the prices of staple foods are based, so as to help in the formulating of policies and to enable consumers adjust and forecast future.
1.2 Purpose of the Study
This study aimed at the following objectives:
- To determine the variation in the prices of staple foods in Owerri Municipal Council.
- To determine the yearly increase in the prices of staple foods so as to forecast future increase in the prices of staple foods.
- Making recommendation based on the finding of this research.
1.3 Research Question
A research question serve as a guide to the research in his quest for answers to the problems being investigated, therefore, some of this research question is as follows:
- Is there any change in the process of staple foods?
- Is there any effect in the yearly increase in the prices of staple foods?
1.4 Significance of the Study
The project finding is hoped to be very useful to the Nigeria economy. Therefore, the significance of this project work is as follows:
- It serves as a guide to the government in making certain policies on the prices of staple foods in Owerri in particulars and Imo State in general.
- It will also serve as a market picture to the marketers on their daily business.
- It will help the government and some private agencies to know the needs of keeping day to day on the prices and quantities of staple foods in every particular place.
- It will help procedures in Owerri and other states on their future production and in projection for the future.
1.5 Scope of the Study
Since the study is aimed at improving the instabilities of the prices and quantities of staple foods, which Owerri Municipal Council has been used as a case study, therefore, in this project, there is a human need, which the research can not cover.
Hence, the researcher only used the sample of eight staple food items, which covers a period of ten years (2001 — 2011).
More so, since the study is limited to Owerri, Imo State, it will also be used to forecast for other cities and states respectively.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Statistics:
Is a science, a branch of mathematics that deals with collection, classification, compilation, tabulation, presentation, representation, analysis and interpretation of numeric data for the purpose of effective decision making.
Staple Foods:
These are the major food items needed in the home that are produced by the farmer.
Time series:
This is statistical techniques for analysis of the past data and projecting them to obtain estimate of future value.
Inflation:
It is the continuous or persistence rise in the prices and quantities of goods, opposite of deflation.
Forecast:
To give complete account of the future.
Variation: Degree of changes
Consumer: A person who buys or uses goods or services
Market:
A medium where buyers and sellers who want to transact business are sufficiently in close contact with one another with the result that goods of some qualities and quantities tend to sell at the same price.
Population of Interest:
Is the population one wants to make use of in order to get the target population.
Target Population:
Is the population one wants to measure by means of sampling survey.
Price:
This is the sum of money by which a commodity is sold or bought.
Index Number:
This is statistical technique used to measure changes in prices, quantity or value from a time period called the based year to another time period.
