• Prices of onions, yam, beans, rice tumble as cost of cabbage, pepper, ginger remains high
From From Desmond Mgboh (Kano), Scholastica Hir (Makurdi), Abel Leonard (Lafia), Jude Dangwam (Jos), Sylvanus Viashima (Jalingo) and Olanrewaju Lawal (Birin-Kebbi)
There is a breath of fresh air across the North as market prices of basic food items record an unusual drop. A survey to that effect among market sellers and basic food vendors in the region reaffirmed the downward trend of prices and provided insights as to why the prices are driving downward.
In Kano, prices of basic food items and farm produce have dropped. At Yankaba Market, Hadejia Road, for instance, prices of tomatoes and onions have fallen, but prices of cabbage, pepper and ginger are all upward bound.
A similar check at Sabon-Gari Central Market showed that the prices of onions, yam tubers, beans, rice, maize and millet are tumbling down, while prices of groundnut oil, garden eggs and some branded food items are still high.
At Yan-Lemo Fruit Market, Zaria Road, prices of oranges, pineapple and mangoes are still high. This is largely as a result of the high cost of transportation. The only item with a friendly outlook in this market is watermelon.
Investigations at Iware, Tella, Garba Chede and Kasuwan Bera markets in Taraba State showed evidence of the same positive price shift. The prices of beans, sorghum, rice, millet and soya beans, among others, in these markets dropped remarkably.
A bag of millet sold at ₦75,000 is selling for ₦60,000; a bag of beans sold at ₦150,000 is now ₦90,000 while a bag of rice is now ₦45,000 as against the previous price of ₦60,000, the investigation indicated.
In the same vein, a bag of sorghum sold at ₦65,000 is selling between ₦35,000 and ₦40,000, just as a bag of onions initially at ₦220,000 is now between ₦70,000 and ₦90,000.
A vegetable trader, Usman Baba, said the drop in the price of onions was due to the season. He, however, admitted that prices of other vegetables such as pepper and ginger remained high because “this is not their season.”
Jerry Tyolanga is national vice president (North East), National Association of Yam Farmers (NAYF). He linked the friendly face of the market prices to improved security operations during the last year’s farming season in the region:
“Food prices went up so much because most people could not go to their farms due to insecurity. However, government has actually done a lot to improve the security situation. Farmers were able to access their farms.”
A trader, Emmanuel Bassey, has been into storage of foodstuffs: “I have been buying and selling foodstuff for more than 10 years now. For most years, you will experience a drop in prices shortly after Christmas and New Year festivities.
“However, anything from April towards ending, the prices will start rising again and reach their peak around June for most products.”
In Benue State, a market survey conducted at Wurukum and Wadata markets confirmed a sharp reduction in prices of food items. Small tubers of yams sell for N500 while medium-sized tubers attract N1,000. The bigger ones are sold for between N1,500 and N3000 per tuber.
A ‘mudu’ of millet bought for N1,700 now goes for N1,300, just as a four-litre paint rubber (measure) sold for N4,800 now goes for N3,900. Similarly, a mudu (measure) of guinea corn slipped from N1,500 to N1,200 while a four-litre bucket is now N3,600.
Janet Ogbaji, a trader in one of the markets, said a bag of maize bought for N100,000 in December 2024, now sells for N80,000: “A mudu of rice sells for N1,200, the paint measure sells for N3,500. Price of ‘Jos tomatoes’ has dropped also.”
But Joyce Kuwha lamented: “The ‘Jos pepper’ sold for N35,000 and N25,000 in December and January, has risen to between N80,000 and N85,000. We are finding it difficult to sell the pepper because the price is too high and the customers are not buying much.”
Boniface Danang is a teacher at Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Jos, Plateau State: “The price of maize has dropped to about N650 as against N900 in January. A measure of rice was now sold for N2,300 as against N2,500 early this year. Groundnut oil in some places is sold at N2,500 as against N2,700 late last year.”
Managing Director, Teye Kitchen, Jos, said: “The hardship has been long and harsh and you can understand why we are all happy. The price of beans has dropped from N2,500 to N1,500.”
Chairman, Muundip Yam Zone Gidan Dabat, Bitrus Dacha, spoke about the implications of the drop in prices of market items: “The yam we used to sell for N3,500 is now N2,500. Tubers of yam of N100,000 per 100 pieces now N70,000. We bought the yam at a very high cost in January this year and we are now selling them for less our buying price.
“We record loses of N4,000 to N7,000 per 100 pieces of yam. Prices dropped while cost of transportation remained the same. We were told that prices of fuel has come down but we are not seeing the impact.
“Most of us collected loans and credit to finance this business. And you know that with yam, it doesn’t stay long. If you don’t sell them, some are rotting already.”
He attributed the drop in prices to the opening of the nation’s borders: “It is a good policy move to make food available. But the move has affected the local food operators like us who have to survive the shock and suffer the loss.”
A visit to Lafia Modern Market and Kasuwa Tomatoes in Nassarawa State revealed a reduction in the prices of key farm produce. A plastic rubber of tomatoes, previously sold for ₦7,000, now goes for ₦5,000. A bag of maize witnessed a drop from ₦65,000 to ₦50,000.
Equally, price of rice crashed from N100,000 to N70,000. Yams and beans recorded similar bounds as 10 tubers of yam, sold for N15,000 now sell for N10,000
A trader at Lafia Modern market, Hauwa Ibrahim, said: “Farmers have started bringing fresh produce into the market. This is naturally driving prices down. We expect further reductions in the coming weeks.”
Despite these reductions, price of pepper remained disproportionately high. A basket of pepper now sells for ₦30,000, compared to ₦15,000 earlier in the year. Retailers are forced to sell in small portions, with ₦200 worth of pepper amounting to just a few pieces of the item.
A pepper vendor, Aliyu Danladi, aka “Yellow” sells at the Kasuwa Tomatoes Market: “The price of pepper is unbearable. Unlike tomatoes, which are harvested in large quantities now, pepper is still scarce. The supply is low because many farmers did not cultivate it in large quantities this season.”
The high price of pepper is linked to tripartite fact of low production, transportation cost and supply chain disruption. Residents and traders are hopeful that as the dry season progresses, the price of pepper will stabilise, bringing further succour to households and food vendors across Nasarawa State.
The good news is also coming from Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, where prices of tomatoes, pepper and onions dropped while yams, local rice remain relatively costly.
In the metropolis, a bag of India rice is sold at N60,000 as against N70,000 last year. Other types of foreign rice were being sold for between N70,000 and N72,000 as against N80,000 and N85,000.
Inside the Birnin Kebbi central market, prices of tomatoes, maize and millets have gone down. A bowl of maize formerly sold for N1,500 now sells for N1,000.
Bello Dankani attributed the fall in the prices of the imported food items to the stability of naira against dollars. Some government officials attributed the drop to the distribution of free fertilizers to farmers: “It is responsible for the bumper harvest crashing prices of food items in the state.”