Encomium
With economic recession and the current talks about Nigeria being broke, a lot of people think it might have affected the prices of food commodities and food stuff. ENCOMIUM Weekly did a check on market women at different market places to know if truly food stuff are expensive and what could be responsible.
In the same vein, we also talked to housewives who frequent markets for shopping to know if the prices of food stuff are on the high side or have been stable.
…HOUSEWIVES speak
‘It’s ridiculous’ – MRS ADEBAYO
Yes, prices of some commodities have increased. I went to the market on Wednesday to buy cabbage, the price was ridiculous so, I waited for Friday, the same thing. A small cabbage sold for N400, while the big one N700, so I went home. My husband is fond of salad with rice on Sundays, so I decided to buy it and it had increased again, I was so annoyed, I left without buying it and I already bought cucumber and carrot.
‘Prices of few items have increased’ -MRS. MOLOKU
Prices of few items have increased. Some are N50 higher. We may think it’s small but for those who buy in large quantity it’s a lot.
‘It’s their season to be expensive’ – MRS. OLUWATUYI
Yes, vegetables are expensive. Sellers said it is due to planting season. Some are seasonal, so this is their season to be expensive.
MRS. OLURANTI
The prices are not stable. Some things are really costly. Onion is costly now, they said this is not the season.
‘It is really pathetic’ – MRS. LILIAN WILLIAMS
Yes, things are really expensive now and Christmas is still more than a month away. It is really surprising that market women don’t’ even know the reasons for the hike in prices.
I have bought 10kg of Semolina at less than N2,000 this year, N1,800, N1,900 – but now they wouldn’t accept nothing less than N2,000, N2,100 or even N2,200.
Tomato has really gone up. The quantity I buy for N50 is not N100. At times, you wouldn’t even get any to buy. Some sell three pieces for N50. It is really a pathetic situation.
‘Yam is expensive’ – MRS. BUNMI ADENIRAN
Yes, that is true. I went to the market two weeks ago, I was able to buy some items at cheaper prices compared to now.
Yam is expensive. I used to buy a tuber for N200. It is now either N300 or N350. 10kg of wheat used to be N1,100. Some sell it at N2,000 or N1,900 now.
‘Some have gone up outrageously’ – MRS. BELLO
Prices of foodstuffs have not been stable for a while. Some have gone up outrageously while some are still stable.
‘The prices aren’t stable’ – MRS. VICTORIA OYEMOLA
Prices of foodstuff are not stable. It might be cheap now and tomorrow it might be expensive. I will say there are some items that have been on increase since the beginning of the year, foodstuff like Semo, wheat and tomatoes.
There is an increment of N100 or N200 on each of those items now.
‘Some prices are still okay’ – PRINCESS LAWSON
Yes there’s an increase in the prices of foodstuff, but not on all of them. There are items that are still okay. Beans still go for the same price. It was sold at N1,000 per paint bucket, It is still the same. Likewise some brands of rice, still go for the same prices they were sold a couple of month ago.
‘Things are not as cheap as they used to be’ -MRS. KEHINDE KOLAPO
Prices of foodstuff has increased. Things are not as cheap as they used to be. Rice has increased in price. I used to buy at N850 per paint bucket. It is now N900. Some sell at N1,000. Semovita has also gone up. Tomatoes has been expensive this year.
Let me talk about condiments. Onion is now very expensive, but spaghetti has been stable. It has been N2,200 for a carton.
‘The prices are on the high side’ – MRS. OLADIPUPO
The prices of a few items are on the high side, not all. For example, the price of yam has gone down incredibly but onions is still expensive, and all they have the market are small bulbs.
‘Foodstuff prices are stable here’- MRS. ADAGO
The prices of foodstuff have been stable at my end. I don’t shop too often as I am a busy person. So, really I can’t say the prices of food commodities have gone up.
‘The prices are on the high side’ – MRS. PELUMI
Yes, the prices of foodstuff are on the high side. I’m hoping things will change soon.
‘Some items are expensive’ – MADAM ADEWUNMI
Yes, the prices of foodstuff are up now, but not all. Just a few like onions, tomatoes are on the high side.
‘It’s still okay for me’ – MRS. TEMITAYO
The prices of commodities are not so bad at all. It’s still okay for me. We all know now the prices of foodstuff skyrocket towards the end of the year.
‘Scarcity has caused increase in price’ – MRS. ALADE
Prices of some food commodities have been stable. Some are scare and that has caused a great increase in prices.
‘It’s still within my budget’ – MRS. JULIUS
The prices of food commodities have been very stable in the last one month. I have not had any reason to go off my market budget for a while now.
Market women share their views
MRS. IBRAHIM, tomato seller
The price of tomato has not been stable this year. Now, I don’t have any to sell because it is too expensive. I bought a basket of tomatoes for N10,000 this year. It used to be N6,000.
I can’t really say his is the reason. It is expensive we don’t really know.
MRS. AFOLABI OLABISI
Semovita has been on the increase since the beginning of the year. And it has affected virtually all brands. At least, I have seen the product increased by N100 to N300 this year alone.
MAMA RISI, plantain seller
Plantain is in season now. Just give it two months and it will go up again. I have also observed that onions and tomatoes are also expensive. We don’t really know why there is increase in prices of foodstuff.
MAMA AFUSA
I really don’t know what is going on. This time, pepper has been really expensive, especially tomatoes and that’s how we get it from our distributors. It is being blamed on the crisis in the North and the fact that they can’t be easily transported down here.
MRS. FOLUWE
Onions is still very expensive, and the reason is that it has become hard to bring it down from the North.
MAMA RANTI
Even as a market woman I don’t know why things are expensive. We just buy them expensive. So, we have no choice than to sell it as we got it.
IYA AYO
Rice will be very expensive from December 1, this is the right time to buy rice and groundnut oil.
MAMA OSHIOKE
The economy is poor, so it will affect us all. I think that’s why food stuff are high because most market women expect their gain from it.
MRS AUDU
We all know that prices of commodities vary, some people over charge. It is left to housewives to take time out for market survey, and buy where it suits them. Although things are not the way they used to be.
IYA TOBI
I am not sure of what it is this time, but some things are cheaper compared to mid this year. Around June, July, August, things were so expensive. Pepper, yam, plantain, were expensive but now, just few things like onion, black yam flour and egg and some few things are expensive.
- SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN, TINUOLA JOSEPH AND NKECHINYERE IBEMERE
