Nigerians have heaved a sigh of relief as prices of food commodities have significantly dropped.
According to a survey carried out by DAILY POST, some traders attributed the price drop to harvest season.
At the Mararaba market, an outskirt of the FCT domiciled in Nasarawa State, findings by DAILY POST revealed notable reductions in prices.
A 50kg bag of foreign rice, previously sold for N88,000 to N90,000 in July, now sells for N83,000, while the local variety has dropped from N70,000 to N65,000.
White beans currently go for N130,000 per bag, while the brown variant is sold at N135,000.
In smaller quantities, a tier of white beans sells between N1,700 and N1,800, while brown beans cost about N2,000 per tier.
Meanwhile, findings further indicated that the price of all items is not trending downwards, as Soya beans have seen a slight uptick, from N80,000 in July to N85,000 in August.
A trader simply identified as Abdul attributed the fluctuation to seasonal factors.
He said, “There was a little drop between June and July, but now soya is going up again. Maybe it’s scarcity or transportation, but we just follow the supply.”
The Chairman of the Tomato Sellers’ Association in the same market, Hamza Abubakar, said the influx of produce has altered market dynamics.
“Before now, a bag of UTC tomatoes went for between N90,000 and N100,000. Today, it’s N50,000,” he said.
He added that Darika tomatoes, which were sold for N65,000 to N70,000 three weeks ago, are now priced at N35,000 per bag, while a paint rubber of tomatoes came down from N15,000 to N13,000.
According to him, a basket of cayenne pepper ranges between N4,000 and N5,500, while scotch bonnet pepper is priced at N6,000 per paint rubber, adding that despite the general decline, onions remain expensive.
“A bag of onions still goes for around N100,000, while a basket is sold between N13,000 and N15,000,” Abubakar noted.
The chairman further stated that a basket of Irish potatoes is priced between N4,000 and N6,000, depending on size and quality.
In the grains segment, DAILY POST reports that white cassava flakes popularly called garri has dropped to N72,000 per bag, while yellow garri now sells for N78,000 to N80,000.
A mudu of white garri, previously sold for N1,100, now goes for N700, while yellow garri has dropped from N1,200 to N900 per mudu.
Across the market, traders attributed the price relief to the arrival of fresh harvests.
“The new crops are coming in, and that’s why prices are falling.
“We expect more reductions in the coming weeks, especially for tomatoes, peppers, and some grains,” one of the traders, identified as Mohammed said.
At the Karu market still in the FCT, DAILY POST reports that a bag of Indian rice has reduced from N53,000 to N50,000, while Thai long-grain rice now goes for N68,000, down from N72,000.
In the same vein, a bag of white beans now sells for N105,000, as compared to N112,000 two months ago.
More checks in the same market by DAILY POST revealed that a bag of white maize has dropped from N58,000 to N55,000, while red maize now goes for N58,000, decreased from N60,000.
At the yam section of the market, DAILY POST gathered that new yam is priced between N4,000 and N5,500 per tuber, while dry yam sells between N6,500 and N8,500 each.
A foodstuff trader in the market, Mary Agba, pointed out that price instability has persisted.
“The prices have been moving up and down for months now,” she said.
Away from Karu to Masaka market, still an outskirt of the FCT but domiciled in Nasarawa State, DAILY POST discovered that prices were equally decreasing.
A basin of milled rice that previously sold between N35,000 and N42,000 now goes for N28,000 to N32,000, depending on the quality.
Also, a bag of local rice, which cost N78,000 last month, is now sold for N65,000 to N70,000.
The price drop is also felt in the sale of garri, which had its basin sold at N35,000, but now goes for N11,000, while a bag has dropped from N75,000 to between N55,000 and N60,000.
The price of beans has also eased, with a bag that recently sold for N80,000 to N90,000 now available for N70,000 to N72,000, depending on the type.