Prices of tomatoes, pepper, yam, others increase in Lagos markets

PRICES of tomatoes, pepper, onions, among others have
increased by over 100 per cent in most markets in Lagos,
according to a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports.



The survey showed that a big basket of tomatoes which
previously sold for N7,000 at the Mile 12, Iddo and Whitesand
markets now sells for N15 000.
A medium-sized basket of fresh pepper now sells for N10,000
from N5,000, while a basket of chili pepper goes for N13,000 as
against the N5,500 it sold for in the preceding weeks.
A jute bag of onions goes for N12,500 from N11,000, while a 20-
litre keg of vegetable oil goes for N6,100 as against N6,000
previously.
A four-litre paint measurement of garri still sells for N300.
At the Daleko Market, Isolo, the prices of the various brands of a
50-kilogramme bag of rice ranges from N7,000 to N12,000. A 120-
kilogramme bag of beans costs N24,500 from the N22,000 it sold
for in the preceding weeks.
The traders attributed the high cost of transportation, the
lingering fuel scarcity and the rainy season as reasons for the
increase in the prices of food items.
Mr Emmanuel Abuchi, a beans seller, attributed the increase in
the price of beans to the ongoing planting season.
"Farmers are not harvesting but planting now, and that is the
reason beans prices keep increasing in the market," Abuchi said.
Mr Femi Odusanya, spokesman of the Mile 12 Traders
Association, said fuel scarcity had affected the movement and
prices of goods to the Lagos market.
"The number of trucks that bring goods to the market has
dropped drastically. We only now get eight or 10 trucks from the
40 trucks that usually bring goods to the market daily because
there is no fuel to transport the goods to Lagos.
"The differential is the cost of transportation and the off season
reflected in the prices of the food items," he said.
Alhaji Wasiu Bilawu, the leader, Ifesowapo Yam Market
Association, Mile 12, urged Lagos residents to bear with the
traders, adding that the prices of yam would reduce when new
yams come in July.
"Before, we paid N4,000 to transport 100 tubers of yams from
Abuja to Lagos but now, due to fuel scarcity, we spend N8,000 to
transport the same quantity.
"The demand for yams in Lagos is more than what is presently
supplied to the market. Before, 10 trucks with yams offload daily
at the market but now, we just have three trucks. This is another
factor that is responsible for the high cost of yams," Bilawu

added.