ABSTRACT
The escalating rise in food prices in recent years has become a growing concern among the public, particularly impacting the impoverished population that allocates a substantial portion of their income to food expenses. This study aimed to scrutinize the fluctuation in the price of vegetable oil within the Benin Metropolis Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives included delineating the socio-economic characteristics of vegetable oil marketers, assessing the pricing of vegetable oil in Benin Metropolis markets, and determining price disparities among these markets. A two-stage sampling process involved selecting 153 respondents from four markets in the study area, and both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for data analysis.
 Descriptive statistics revealed that all vegetable oil marketers were married females (100%), with an average age of 49 years and a household size of four. Groundnut oil exhibited the highest price (1.5 liters = N2000), while palm oil had the lowest price (1.5 liters = N1600). Palm oil showed the highest price variation (28%), whereas groundnut oil exhibited the least (2%). Inferential statistics indicated significant spatial differences in palm oil prices. The study also revealed that the smallest reduction in groundnut oil price occurred in Santana Market (N1302.20), followed by Uselu Market (N1267.04), and the highest reduction was observed in New Benin Market (N1246.12). Additionally, the greatest increase in palm oil price was recorded in Santana Market (N82.37), followed by New Benin Market (N70), and the smallest increase was noted in Oba Market (N49.24), as compared to Uselu Market. In summary, there exists spatial price variation in vegetable oil among markets in the Benin Metropolis Area of Edo State, Nigeria, with substantial differences in palm oil prices and minimal variation in vegetable oil prices.
