Encomium
The fluctuating prices of meat and frozen foods (chicken, turkey, fish, etc) have stirred lamentations from the sellers. Since last year, the prices have been fluctuating, going up and coming down. However, the change in the prices of the frozen food is only noticeable if you are buying in cartons, unlike when buying in bits.
Meat, on the other hand, has continued to rise despite poor patronage which the sellers complain of.
In this chat with encomium.ng, meat and frozen food sellers reveal what sales look like in the past few days and the new prices…
Kazeem Okanlawon (butcher)
The price of meat has not dropped a bit, rather it rises every now and then. To worsen the situation, there hasn’t been good sales. Sales has been very poor. People can’t afford what we sell. They don’t understand it’s not our fault, we sell the way we buy too.
Mr Ridwan (butcher)
The price of meat changes at will, dollars doesn’t affected it. In fact, it doesn’t have anything to do with it. If you buy meat today at a certain price, if you go back tomorrow, the price would have changed. Sometimes, the change is about 20% or even more. Sales has not been encouraging too, it’s really poor.
Ishola Lawal (butcher)
I wouldn’t say that the price of meat has fallen because it has not. The sales hasn’t been too good, people eat meat as much as they eat fish these days. That’s because the prices are matching.
Ayorinde Aminat (J.J frozen food)
The price of frozen food has dropped a little bit. But the change is only obvious when you are buying in cartons. At least, the change is about N1,000 compared to what we bought in January. In January, turkey was N11,000 plus, now it’s N10,000. Sometimes, the price comes down, sometimes it rises. Just yesterday, the price of of chicken rose again. This is so because all these frozen foods are imported. The problem is not that of that of the banks, not that of the government. The banks are the ones crashing the naira every now and then. Patronage is not too good because all fingers are not equal. The probability of the price dropping further before Ramadan starts is very slim, it doesn’t even look like it would drop anymore.
Alhaji Kuti
Meat price has not dropped, it’s been rising and rising every day. Though we still sell in bit, it’s not the same quantity as before. People don’t eat more meat nowadays because of the country’s state.
Miss Blessing Benjamin
The price of frozen food has changed a little and we the sellers too have effected the change in what we sell. We now sell croacker fish for N1,300 per kilo, Lanka is now N1,000 per kilo, marcarel is N900 and titus too is now N800 per kilo. The prices were N100 or more higher before now.
Alhaja Sekinat Ajayi (Belly matters frozen food store)
Business has not been the way they used to be, I don’t buy as much as I used to. Because both turkey and fish are increasing in price almost every day. So if you bulk buy for more and the price drops, it will definitely affect the business. People are no more patronizing like before, most are buying those Togo fish. So we don’t know what to even say.
Mr Adeniyi (God’s grease frozen food)
Frozen food are not like before, we used to have people patronise us well, but now it has reduced. All because turkey and fish are now reduced a little beat with difference of N100 and N200 per kilo. But if you are buying in cartons, it will reduce by N1,000. It is not that it cannot get high again but what we are all praying for is reduction.
– SHUKURAT ALIMI and AZEEZAT KAREEM for encomium.ng
