The prices of key food items have gone up significantly in the past two months further compounding the woes of consumers, metrobusinessnews.com reports.
Our recent survey at Oshodi, Ikeja and Mushin markets in Lagos reveals that the prices of perishable food items have increased markedly in the last four weeks.
Same trend with building materials where prices of materials such as cement and sands have gone up.
As at Thursday, the price of a 50kg bag of rice was sold for between N19, 500 and 21,000 against between N17, 500 and N18, 500 and a 50kg bag of olotu beans is now sold for N18,000 instead of N16,500 sold two months ago.
The price of a 50kg bag of Cameroon pepper rose to sell for N25, 000 from between N19,000 and N20,000, a 50kg bag of dried pepper increased by 30 percent to sell for N65, 000 from N50, 000, and a 50kg bag of corn now goes for N19, 000 against N14, 000.
‘‘The situation is getting worse by the day. Customers are reducing the quantity of food items they buy and I can no longer stock up my shop because the money to do so is not even available,” said Adeyemi Olajide, a trader at Oshodi market complained bitterly.
Furthermore, a bag of fresh pepper rose by 41.7 per cent to sell for N17, 000 from N12, 000 and the price of 50kg bag of yellow garri sell for N10, 200 against N8, 500 sold last December which is a 20 percent increase.
Similarly, a 100kg bag of Melon moved up by 17.6 percent to N40, 000 from N34, 000, a 50kg bag of maize rose to between N18, 000 and N19, 000 from N17, 500 and a basket of crayfish is now sold for between N54, 000 and N55, 000 instead of between N42, 000 and N43,000 within the same period.
“Sales have been terribly poor. I used to sell up to 50 bags of garri within four days but these days are tough. I am yet to sell 8 bags out of 30 bags of garri I bought six weeks ago,” Babatunde Olatunji, a trader at Mushin market said.
However, the price of 25litres of palm oil fell by over 50 percent to sell for N14, 000 from between N24, 000 and N30, 000, 25 litres of vegetable oil now goes for N16, 000 as against N18, 000 and a bag of Ogbolo (soup thickener) is now sold for N110,000 instead of N130,000.
Also, the price of a basket of fresh tomatoes dropped by 66 percent from N15, 000 to sell for between N9, 000 and N10, 000, just as a bag of onions is now sold for N20, 000 against N28,000.
Commenting on the drop in prices of some perishable food items, Biliya Adam, secretary of perishable goods section at Mile 12 market said attributed to the government intervention funds to farmers.
‘‘We now get large quantities of fresh tomatoes and onions coming into the market at a reduced price because government has provided enough money for farmers,’’ Adam explained.
‘‘We also see people from Cameroon, Niger and Cotonu coming in to buy from us’’
Some consumers who spoke with BusinessDay say they are cutting their coat according to their size while praying that the situation in the country improves in no distant time.
“It’s really bad that eating common two meals a day is now a huge problem. Taking a list to the market these days is almost useless. The price of everything seems to be increasing by the minute and the money is not even there, that’s the challenge. Nowadays, we eat what we can afford and not what we want to eat,” says Prisca Anthony, a housewife in Lagos.
Bisi Adejare, a mother of three who lives in Festac Town, Lagos, laments that it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope.
“The price of everything keeps going up every day, plus my monthly feeding/housekeeping allowance has also gone down since my husband’s office cut his salary last year. I used to buy things like rice and beans in bags, or at least half bags, but now I can only measure in ‘painter’ buckets (about 2kg). Even that is becoming increasingly unaffordable. We may soon resort to measuring in De Rica cups,” Adejare says.
Deji Bamidele, a banker who lives in Satellite Town, Lagos, says his family income has remained static, and he thanks God that at least he and his wife were fortunate to escape the hammer of salary cut or job loss.
“But it’s not been easy at all as our expenditure keeps rising as a result of price increase without a corresponding increase in our income,” says Bamidele.
“As a survival strategy, we have done the only wise thing: reduce our consumption and suspend all capital-intensive projects for now. For instance, we acquired a plot of land at Ajah in 2014 where we intend to build our home. Early last year we laid the foundation, but with the way things are we have stopped work on it until things improve. For now, all our money goes into food items, and our children’s school fees. No one is even talking about savings for now,” he adds.
Belinda Amuwa, a resident of Festac Town, Lagos, says life has not been easy for her family but they are adjusting by the day.
“We go for needs and not wants; more of food items and toiletries but in smaller quantities,” says Amuwa.
“I replaced my baby’s food with a much cheaper one but also nutritious and I go for anything cheap but with quality in mind too. I pulled out my baby from the crèche and had to drop him off with my mother-in-law every day before heading to work and pick him up on my return. This saves me money for basic needs in the home. We are practically managing but I believe it will get better soon,” she adds.
Cyril Ndulue, who resides with his family at Ajao Estate, Lagos, says his family income has been put under severe pressure with every family member feeling the impact, adding that they are also adjusting.
“My children were the first hit; they had to change schools because business has been terrible since last year with this dollar problem. If I don’t own the house we live in, I would have relocated to the village with my family the way things are,” Ndulue tells BusinessDay.
“We had to reduce the frequency with which we ate at home from thrice to twice in a day. We just buy little food and learnt how to make do with what we can afford for now,” he adds.
Ebunlorun Khalimat, says the bad shape of the economy has compelled them to buy only foodstuffs that are necessary, such as rice, beans, bread, pepper and other soup and stew condiments that are cheaper.
“The rest we avoid buying them for now. We had to move into a cheaper apartment in January and in a remote location but that’s all we can afford for now,” she says.
As at Thursday, the price of a 50kg bag of rice was sold for between N19, 500 and 21,000 against between N17, 500 and N18, 500 and a 50kg bag of olotu beans is now sold for N18,000 instead of N16,500 sold two months ago.
The price of a 50kg bag of Cameroon pepper rose to sell for N25, 000 from between N19,000 and N20,000, a 50kg bag of dried pepper increased by 30 percent to sell for N65, 000 from N50, 000, and a 50kg bag of corn now goes for N19, 000 against N14, 000.
‘‘The situation is getting worse by the day. Customers are reducing the quantity of food items they buy and I can no longer stock up my shop because the money to do so is not even available,” said Adeyemi Olajide, a trader at Oshodi market complained bitterly.
Furthermore, a bag of fresh pepper rose by 41.7 per cent to sell for N17, 000 from N12, 000 and the price of 50kg bag of yellow garri sell for N10, 200 against N8, 500 sold last December which is a 20 percent increase.
Similarly, a 100kg bag of Melon moved up by 17.6 percent to N40, 000 from N34, 000, a 50kg bag of maize rose to between N18, 000 and N19, 000 from N17, 500 and a basket of crayfish is now sold for between N54, 000 and N55, 000 instead of between N42, 000 and N43,000 within the same period.
“Sales have been terribly poor. I used to sell up to 50 bags of garri within four days but these days are tough. I am yet to sell 8 bags out of 30 bags of garri I bought six weeks ago,” Babatunde Olatunji, a trader at Mushin market said.
However, the price of 25litres of palm oil fell by over 50 percent to sell for N14, 000 from between N24, 000 and N30, 000, 25 litres of vegetable oil now goes for N16, 000 as against N18, 000 and a bag of Ogbolo (soup thickener) is now sold for N110,000 instead of N130,000.
Also, the price of a basket of fresh tomatoes dropped by 66 percent from N15, 000 to sell for between N9, 000 and N10, 000, just as a bag of onions is now sold for N20, 000 against N28,000.
Commenting on the drop in prices of some perishable food items, Biliya Adam, secretary of perishable goods section at Mile 12 market said attributed to the government intervention funds to farmers.
‘‘We now get large quantities of fresh tomatoes and onions coming into the market at a reduced price because government has provided enough money for farmers,’’ Adam explained.
‘‘We also see people from Cameroon, Niger and Cotonu coming in to buy from us’’
Some consumers who spoke with BusinessDay say they are cutting their coat according to their size while praying that the situation in the country improves in no distant time.
“It’s really bad that eating common two meals a day is now a huge problem. Taking a list to the market these days is almost useless. The price of everything seems to be increasing by the minute and the money is not even there, that’s the challenge. Nowadays, we eat what we can afford and not what we want to eat,” says Prisca Anthony, a housewife in Lagos.
Bisi Adejare, a mother of three who lives in Festac Town, Lagos, laments that it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope.
“The price of everything keeps going up every day, plus my monthly feeding/housekeeping allowance has also gone down since my husband’s office cut his salary last year. I used to buy things like rice and beans in bags, or at least half bags, but now I can only measure in ‘painter’ buckets (about 2kg). Even that is becoming increasingly unaffordable. We may soon resort to measuring in De Rica cups,” Adejare says.
Deji Bamidele, a banker who lives in Satellite Town, Lagos, says his family income has remained static, and he thanks God that at least he and his wife were fortunate to escape the hammer of salary cut or job loss.
“But it’s not been easy at all as our expenditure keeps rising as a result of price increase without a corresponding increase in our income,” says Bamidele.
“As a survival strategy, we have done the only wise thing: reduce our consumption and suspend all capital-intensive projects for now. For instance, we acquired a plot of land at Ajah in 2014 where we intend to build our home. Early last year we laid the foundation, but with the way things are we have stopped work on it until things improve. For now, all our money goes into food items, and our children’s school fees. No one is even talking about savings for now,” he adds.
Belinda Amuwa, a resident of Festac Town, Lagos, says life has not been easy for her family but they are adjusting by the day.
“We go for needs and not wants; more of food items and toiletries but in smaller quantities,” says Amuwa.
“I replaced my baby’s food with a much cheaper one but also nutritious and I go for anything cheap but with quality in mind too. I pulled out my baby from the crèche and had to drop him off with my mother-in-law every day before heading to work and pick him up on my return. This saves me money for basic needs in the home. We are practically managing but I believe it will get better soon,” she adds.
Cyril Ndulue, who resides with his family at Ajao Estate, Lagos, says his family income has been put under severe pressure with every family member feeling the impact, adding that they are also adjusting.
“My children were the first hit; they had to change schools because business has been terrible since last year with this dollar problem. If I don’t own the house we live in, I would have relocated to the village with my family the way things are,” Ndulue tells BusinessDay.
“We had to reduce the frequency with which we ate at home from thrice to twice in a day. We just buy little food and learnt how to make do with what we can afford for now,” he adds.
Ebunlorun Khalimat, says the bad shape of the economy has compelled them to buy only foodstuffs that are necessary, such as rice, beans, bread, pepper and other soup and stew condiments that are cheaper.
“The rest we avoid buying them for now. We had to move into a cheaper apartment in January and in a remote location but that’s all we can afford for now,” she says.