Prices of foodstuff crash ahead of Christmas
- Nigeria has been facing serious economic crises for many months thus causing disillusionment among the masses
- However, while Nigerians continue to cry about the situation of the country, the prices of products have crashed
Nigerians may begin to heave a sigh of relief ahead of the Yuletide as prices of foodstuff have continued to crash amid tight pockets coming from a troubled economy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prices of tomatoes and pepper have dropped by about 55 percent in most markets in Lagos state.
This means the prices could be far lesser in the northern part of Nigeria and other states with a high population of farmers.
Most of such products come into Lagos from other states.
The report said a basket of tomatoes at the popular Mile 12 and Iddo markets which previously cost N9,000 now sells for N5,000.
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The report also said pepper now sells for between N4, 500 and N4,000 respectively, as against N8,000 in November.
According to the report, the price of onions has also gone down with a bag now selling for N17, 000 as against N28, 000, while a plastic container of garri now sells for N650.
The spokesperson of the Mile 12 Traders Association, Mr Femi Odusanya, reportedly explained that the prices of the commodities dropped due to massive harvest of the items for the Yuletide season.
He said: “Most farmers are harvesting their produce now leading to surplus and drop in prices of the items in the market.
“Our appeal to government is to mop up the excesses through preservation because prices will further drop until April when the produce will not be in season.
“We do not want a repeat of previous experience that we had much food waste due to our inability to preserve the excesses.”
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He pleaded with the government to take urgent steps to encourage farmers to mass-produce crops and ensure food sufficiency in the country.
The report also said at the Daleko market, the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of rice ranged between N16,000 and N24,000 depending on its brand.
But the state government has promised to flood every local government with affordable rice which it has produced in partnership with Kebbi state.
A rice seller, Mrs Yinka Okunola, explained that the price of rice was still high as a result of the current exchange rate of the Naira and non-availability of local variety in most markets.
She was quoted as saying: “We do not have the locally produced rice in the market, and when available it competes favourably with the imported rice and forces a reduction in the prices of rice.”
Source: Legit.ng
