Enugu, Nov. 24, 2023: Traders in Enugu State have lamented the worsening economic situation occasioned by skyrocketing inflation in the country.
The traders stated in Enugu on Thursday how inflation was negatively affecting prices of goods in the market, as they kept increasing on daily basis.
They appealed to the federal government to urgently do the needful to arrest the rising inflation in the country.
A trader at Abakpa-Nike market, Mr Ugonna Ebo, who deals on plastics, said that his business was always confronted with constant price change.
Ebo noted that the development was slowing down his business, as customers complained of price increase, which most times scare them away from patronage.
He said that a quality plastic bucket, which used to sell at N500 before now, was selling at N1,200, adding that customers who could not afford the quality one, were forced to buy inferior bucket.
According to him, many of my customers are seeking for alternative to enable them cushion the effect of the bad economy in the country.
A food seller at Ogbete market, who pleaded anonymity, said the inflation was worse in food commodity, making it difficult for average Nigerians to feed well.
She said that rice, which was a staple food for many Nigerians, was now considered luxury for the rich, as a 50kg bag of foreign rice was selling at between N55,000 and N60,000 while the local rice now sold for between N42,000 and N45,000.
She wondered how the low income earners and the poor people would survive in the present difficult economic situation, which she added was not improving any time soon.
A girl, who runs a provision at new heaven market Miss Chidera Ani said she was at the verge of closing down her shop, as she could not cope with soaring prices of goods in the market.
Ani lamented that most of her customers, who preferred to buy soft drinks like Coca Cola and others have stopped doing so, especially with the price adjustment to N300, as against N200 previously sold.