Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have breathe a sigh of relief as prices of some staple food decreases in the city centre and satellite towns.
A market survey revealed that while prices of some food items are coming down, others still remained at roof top.
The survey was conducted in the Apo Fish Market, Dutse, Lugbe and Wuse, Nyanya markets and Orange market.
The residents attributed the reduction in prices to harvest season, which has increased food supply, as well as tax waiver on some food items granted by the Federal Government.
Tomatoes, Irish potatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, and yams are being harvested, which has helped to boost supply and ease prices.
Mr Godwin Solomon, a tomato seller at Apo Fish Market, said a big basket full of tomato which was sold as high as N230,000 in June was now being sold at betweebln N40,000 and N55,000.
“A dustbin full of tomatoes priced between N16,000 to N20,000 has dropped to between N5,000 to N12,000, offering some relief to consumers.
“Also, a dustbin-full of pepper now sells for N6,000 to N9, 000 depending on the day of the week while that of onions goes for N4,500 from N6000,” Solomon said.
A yam seller at the Dutse market, David Adole, said consumers who for two months could not buy yams, were now able to buy, due to reduction in price.
“Old yam is rarely available now in the market, what we have now is the new yam and it is more affordable for the people.
“Five tubers of yam which we used to sell at about N25,000 to N35, 000, now go for between N12, 000 to N18, 000.
“A dustbin-full of sweet potatoes now goes for N3,000 from the former price N5, 000 while Irish potato dropped from around N25,000 to between N6,000 and N8,000,” he said.
Equally, the price of “Garri” (cassava flake) has decreased minimally in the market.
A “mudu”, (the common unit of measure for foodstuff in market) of white garri now goes for N1,100 while red garri goes for N1,300 compared to earlier prices of N1,400 and N1,600 respectively.
At the Nyanya market, Mrs Yetunde Adeleke, a garri seller said that a bag of white and red garri was sold at N66,000 and N70,000 in June but has reduced to N55,000 and N60,000 respectively.
Mr Ahmed Aliyu, at the Lugbe market, said price of grains – maize and guinea corn – has remained at N1500 per mudu while millet reduced to N1400 from N1600 it was sold for in June.
However, checks revealed that prices of some food items like meat, rice, beans and provisions either remained unchanged or had slightly increased in the market.
Mr Shehu Danladi, a butcher at the Wuse market, said two months ago, a Kilo of beef was sold at N5000, but it was now sold for between N5200 to N5,500.
Mrs Jane Agbende, said a bag of white beans, which was sold at N200,000 in June, has increased to N250,000.
“One mudu of brown beans was sold at N1,800 and white beans N1,600, but is now N3,200 and 2,800 respectively.
“The price of beans has been unstable, but we hope that by October/November, the price will reduce because farmers will start harvesting their produce,” Agbende said.
Alhaji Mohammed Idris, who sells rice in bags at the Orange market, Nasarawa State, said the cost of rice had also been unstable for a while.
According to Idris, the situation has affected the trade, as traders no longer have ability to purchase large stock from farmers as they were doing before.
He said a 50kg bag of local rice sold for N64, 000 in June, is currently being sold between N80,000 to N84,000, while its 25kg bag sold for N35,000 is now N42,000.
“We sold a mudu of local rice for N1,800 in June, but it is now sold at N2,800.
Honestly, customers are not buying our goods the way they used to do because of hardship.
“In spite of the reduced price of some food items, the level of patronage by consumers has remained low,’’ Idris said.
Mrs Amina Shaibu, a foodstuff seller, also corroborated Idris that most people now preferred to buy only what they needed per time due to high cost of living.
“The sellers are really feeling the impact. We can barely make enough income to sustain our families these days.
“We pray that the prices of these items will continue to decrease because people are suffering a lot.
“Our customers are also no longer patronising us as they used to.
“We want the government to do the needful, ensure security, reduce cost of production, and stabilise food prices,” she said.
A teacher, Mrs Grace Udochi, said even with the minimal lower prices, Nigerians are still struggling and finding it almost impossible to feed or make ends meet.
“The demand for food remains constant, but the ability to purchase has become increasingly strained, thus the urgent need for solutions to mitigate the impact of inflation on everyday Nigerians,”Udochi said.
Mr Hogan Abraham, a Civil Servant, said the reduction in prices of some of the food items was a big relief for parents especially during this holiday period.
“As you know most students are on holidays, and most children have formed the habit of eating unrestrained while on holidays.
“I went to the market on Thursday to restock my house after a long time, and you cannot imagine my excitement when I realised that prices of some food items have reduced,” Abraham said.
Malam Mohammed Abdullahi, a farmer in Karshi said that some traders were not sincere, as they always tried to make excess profits off their customers.
According to him, traders are using this high cost of prices in the market as an opportunity to make too much profit, which is not fair.
Meanwhile, Dr John Bello, an economist has advised the government to promote domestic production of essential goods.
According to Bello, local production will help to reduce reliance on imports, mitigate the impact of currency devaluation and improve the standard of living of Nigerians.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation report for April showed food inflation increased to 40.53 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The NBS said the April figure indicated a 15.92 per cent increase compared to the rate recorded in April 2023 at 24.61 per cent.
The Bureau in its July CPI report however showed that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined to 33.40 per cent.
However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in July was 9.32 per cent higher than the rate recorded in July 2023 at 24.08 per cent.
The increase in the headline index for July on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis was attributed to the rise in prices of some goods and services at the divisional level.
