A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the markets within Owerri metropolis showed that the price of a paint bucket of beans came down from ₦10,000 to ₦8,000 and ₦7,500, depending on the type.
With the new yam now flooding the market, its price also dropped significantly with a big tuber, which sold for ₦7,000 last month, now going for ₦4,000. The medium size, sold at ₦5,000, has also come down to between ₦3,000 and ₦2,500.
A bucket of tomatoes, sold for ₦15,000, came down to ₦8,000. However, the price of garri has continued to soar as a bag, which was sold at ₦40,000 last year, still sells for as high as ₦68,000. Also, a small bucket of the commodity, which was sold for ₦2,500 now goes for ₦3500.
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Garri sellers blamed the continued price hike on the cost of transportation. The price of rice has also remained high as 50 kg of foreign brands sells for ₦90,000. The 50-kg of local brand, often referred to as “local foreign”, still goes for between ₦70,000 and ₦75,000.
Also in Umuahia, the Abia capital, there is a slight reduction in the price of red pepper. A basket of the commodity goes for between N65,000 and ₦70,000 as against ₦95,000 and ₦100,000 a few months ago.
A dealer, Ezinne Okafor, attributed the price decrease to the new harvest season.
“Competition has forced the price down a little because Ogoja and Ngwa pepper are now in the market, unlike when it was only Nsukka pepper, which cost ₦100,000 per basket barely one month ago.
“New tomatoes from Gboko in Benue are also in the market now and have contributed to the price decrease,” Okafor said.
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However, the prices of other staple food items have yet to drop, the harvest season, notwithstanding. According to a survey carried out at the Ubani Ultra Modern Market, near Umuahia, a bag of 50 kg of rice (local foreign) now goes for between ₦80,000 and ₦85,000 as against ₦65,000 and ₦70,000 a few months ago.
A 75-kg bag of iron beans also sells between ₦180,000 and ₦210,000 (depending on the type), as against ₦120,000 and ₦140,000 some months ago. Also, a 75-kg bag of garri currently goes for between ₦88,000 and ₦90,000 as against ₦85,000 and ₦87,000 between March and April.
Similarly, a 75-kg bag of sweet potatoes now costs ₦75,000 as against N50,000 about five months ago. A bag of onions now sells for ₦120,000 as against ₦85,000 and ₦90,000 around March.
A trader, Musa Yinusa, predicted that the price of onions would still go up to about ₦150,000 by December, going by the market trend. Yinusa, who sells potatoes and onions, attributed the rising prices of foodstuffs to the high cost of transportation and insecurity in the north, where the commodities are cultivated.
According to him, farmers in the north can no longer go to farm because of the attacks by bandits and Boko Haram insurgents, leading to food shortages.
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A basket of round-seed tomatoes now sells for ₦126,000, while that of Gboko tomatoes costs ₦70,000, as against ₦100,000 and ₦65,000 about five months ago. However, the prices of other items like eggs, vegetable oil, seasoning cubes, and tomato pastes have continued to soar.
A crate of eggs costs between ₦4,800 and ₦5000 as against ₦3,9000 and ₦4,200 about five months ago. A 25-litre vegetable oil costs ₦55,000, a 5-litre goes for ₦11,000, while a carton of tomato paste sells between ₦7000 and ₦7,200.
Okafor also blamed the hike in the price of eggs on the high cost of poultry feeds. A bag of crayfish now sells between ₦180,000 and ₦200,000 as against ₦140,000 and ₦160,000 around April.
A crayfish seller at Isi Gate Market, Umuahia, Ugonne Chikamnayo, also blamed the price increase on the high cost of transportation.
“Early last year, a bag of crayfish sold between ₦60,000 and ₦70,000, but later rose to ₦80,000 and ₦90,000 between November and December.
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“The commodity comes from Oron in Akwa Ibom, but the processes involved, including paying those frying it and other costs, force the price up,” she added.
In Aba, the commercial hub of Abia, foodstuff sellers at the New Market (Ahia Ohuru), said the prices of yam, potato, onions and tomatoes have slightly dropped due to the harvest season. Some of the traders told NAN that the rising fuel prices and transport fares have made it difficult for the residents to feel the price drop.
A yam seller, Daniel Njoku, said that a tuber of yam that was sold at ₦4,000 last two weeks is now ₦3,500. Njoku attributed the price decrease to the new yams from the north and other agrarian communities in the southeast. He envisaged that the price of yam would continue to come down due to the harvest season.
He, however, said that the cost of transportation was still high and, hence might hurt the prices of foodstuffs. Another trader, Abbas Sani, who sells potatoes and onions, told NAN that the prices of foodstuffs had dropped drastically in the north compared to the east.
Sani said that a bag of potatoes, which cost ₦75,000 last week, is now ₦60,000. He said that a basket of onions, sold for ₦115,000 a fortnight ago, goes for ₦100,000. He, however, said that the price of old onions remained at ₦130,000 per basket.
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A tomato seller, Ozioma Mbah, said she used to buy a basket of Cameroon tomatoes, brought through the Calabar axis, at ₦35,000. She, however, said that with the Gboko tomatoes now in the market, the price of Cameroon tomatoes crashed to ₦22,000.
“As at today, Gboko tomatoes cost ₦27,000,” Mbah said, adding that to transport the commodity from the north to Aba cost ₦10,000 per basket. She feared that the cost of transportation might still go up next week due to the continued fuel price hike.
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