Food vendors in Lagos State are lamenting the constant fluctuation in prices of goods, alongside the persistent inflation gripping the nation.
Speaking individually to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, the traders aired their grievances during separate interviews.
Mr. John Nwabueze, a familiar face at Agege Market, lamented how the erratic nature of food prices has impeded their trading activities, compelling them to reduce their purchase volumes.
“The prices of most food items are currently unstable; we cannot even predict the prices anymore.
“The prices are volatile, and we can no longer stock as we used to, or we may run at a loss.
“The price of rice has started rising again; a 50-kg bag of short-grain rice now sells for as much as N80, 000 and above; last week, it was sold for N76, 000 to N77, 000.
“50kg long grain rice sells for N90,000 per bag, and we do not know the reasons for the hike in the price because it sold for N88,000 last week.
“A 100kg bag of beans sells for N144, 000 and a 50kg bag sells for N72, 000; we used to buy the 100kg for N154, 000 to N155,000, but it has dropped now.
“Garri is still very expensive, as a paint bucket now sells for N3000 as opposed to N900 to N1000 before; a bag of garri now sells for N45,000 as opposed to N23,000 before the hike,” Nwabueze said.
On her part, Mrs Judith Amen, a foodstuff trader at Mile 12 Market in Lagos, said the “ups and downs in the price of produce have made most traders wary of the trade.
“We do not even understand the situation; the price of foodstuffs has been fluctuating for a while now.
“Currently, the price of a 50-kg bag of short-grain rice sells for N82,000, while long-grain rice sells for between N88,000 and N90,000 per bag.
“A week before now, a bag of long-grain rice sold for N78,000, so the hike this week is unprecedented.
“A bag of 100 kg of beans sells for N140,000, as against N120,000 we bought two weeks ago.
“A 25-kg gallon of refill groundnut oil sells for N45,000, while the sealed gallon sells for N55,000 per gallon,” Amen said.
According to her, the price of tomatoes is also fluctuating because last week we bought them for as much as N35, 000 per basket, but as of this week, it is N22, 000 per basket, which means the price is unpredictable.
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“When tomatoes become affordable, pepper becomes more expensive; a small bag of pepper now sells for between N35,000 and N41,000.
“The prices of sweet and Irish potatoes are on the high side; a bag of sweet potatoes is N47,000, as opposed to the N12,000 to N18,000 we used to buy them.
“A bag of Irish potatoes now sells above N90,000, while a bag of onions sells between N43,000 and N45,000 because of its current unavailability in the market,” she said.
Another trader, Mrs Modinat Yusuf, Oja Oba market at Alimosho, lamented the scarcity of some basic food items as well as the continuous hike in the price.
“A kilogramme of semolina now sells for as much as N1500 as against N800; a sachet of knoor cubes sells for as much as N1300 as against N700.
Yusuf mentioned that the smallest sachet of salt was selling for N200, compared to N50 before the hike. He also noted that a cartoon of spaghetti was now being sold for 17,000, whereas it used to be priced between N8000 to N10,000. He further explained that they were only purchasing a minimal amount to sell quickly because the prices were unpredictable.