A survey conducted by The Point at Ketu and Oshodi markets in Lagos has revealed that prices of many consumer items, especially foodstuffs, increased in the month of March.
Mostly affected were the prices of tomatoes, rice, beans, and other perishable items.
For instance, the price of tomatoes (basket) increased from N5,500 as at the end of February to N11,000 by the end of March.
While a bag of rice’s increased from N12,800 to N16,000, the cost of a bag of beans also went up from N34,000 to N38,000.
In the same vein, there had been a little increase in the price of garri, especially white garri. According to the consensus of traders in Ketu market, garri became expensive due to the economic condition of the country. In the market, a bag of white garri cost N15,000 while a bag of yellow garri was not sold for less than N13,000.
However, the prices of provisions like dairy milk, detergent, noodles, beverages, laundry soaps and cereals that increased by 30 per cent in the previous months, remained the same, as observed in the markets.
A trader in Oshodi Market, Ms. Tope Oyewunmi, said, “The prices of various commodities in the market have risen as a result of many factors like scarcity of petrol and the bad exchange rate. They often lead non-availability of most local produce.
“Traders are aware of the fact that prices of various foods items usually witness increment in the prices whenever there is an imbalance in the economy but this period is bad. The rise in the price of provisional items like beverages, noodles, detergent and more is alarming, as it increases daily.”
Another trader at the Ketu market, Mrs. Nike Peter, attributed the high cost, of rice to difficulties in the importation of the product as she argued that the price of rice was not stable.
