Residents of Owerri and Umuahia, the capital cities of Imo and Abia in the South-East, have decried the continued rising cost of foodstuffs and general inflation in the country.

Correspondents who monitored the situation in the two cities report that prices of food items have hit the rooftops and are now beyond the reach of average Nigerians since January.

At the popular Relief Market, Owerri, a 50kg bag of locally grown rice now sells from N60,000 to N68,000, depending on the brand.

The same 50kg bag of foreign rice sells between N72,000 and N80,000, also depending on brand and availability.

Other brands, such as Caprice and Royal Stallion, are sold for as high as N75,000, while Al Wabel, Gilaso, Mama Gold, and Mamas Pride, often referred to as “Nigerian foreign”, go for N70,000 for a 50kg bag.

A bag of beans, which was sold at N110,000 earlier in the year, has dropped to N80,000, while a painter previously sold for N6,700 now sells for N5,000.

A custard painter of beans now sells for N6,000, as against N2,800 sold in January, while the same quantity of garri now sells for N3,200 as against N1,500.

Conversely, a 10-litre jerry can of vegetable oil, which previously sold for N12,000, now sells for N37,000.

An average-size tuber of yam now goes for N2,500, while smaller sizes sell for about N1,800 as against N1,000 and N700.

A retail trader, Louis Udoka, attributed the hike in prices to the high cost of transportation, arising from the high prices of petrol and diesel.

Mr Udoka said, “For as long as the cost of fuel remains high, prices of goods will continue to be high because fuel controls the Nigerian economy.”

An official of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria in Imo, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that although the naira had gained some value against the dollar, prices of locally produced food items were not expected to drop significantly due to astronomical cost of transporting the goods from one part of the country to the other.

He argued that the appreciation of the naira to the dollar could only affect the price of imported goods.

Kingsley Akachi, who taught economics at the secondary school level for 12 years, said Nigeria’s rising population would naturally necessitate a rise in the demand for food, thus leading to an increase in prices as producers struggle to cope with higher demand.

He commended the federal government for stabilising the naira but called for better government policies to address the soaring cost of locally produced food items.

In Umuahia, the situation slightly varied with a marginal drop in the prices of some staple food items in the last month.

A survey conducted at Apummiri Market in Umuahia South Local Government Area on Saturday shows that prices of rice, spaghetti, palm oil, vegetable oil, onions, flour and sugar dropped by some fractions.

For instance, a 50kg bag of branded local rice, which was sold for N74,000 in March, dropped to between N67,000 and N70,000 in April.

Also, a 50kg bag of onions, which was sold at between N39,000 and N41,000, is now sold for between N27,000 and N28,000.

A 25-litre gallon of palm oil that sold for between N23,000 and N25,000 has also come down to between N21,000 and N23,000.

The survey also reveals that the price of a 25-litre gallon of vegetable oil dropped from N52,000 to between N47,000 and N48,000.

A carton of spaghetti, which sold for between N16,000 and N19,000, now sells for between N13,500 and N17,000.

Also, a 50kg bag of flour, which sold for between N47,000 and N48,000, has dropped to N45,000, while a 50kg bag of sugar moved down from N85,000 to between N79,000 and N81,000.

Meanwhile, prices of some food items have experienced an appreciable rise in the last month.

A 100kg bag of beans, which was sold for N123,000 in the past month, now sells for N127,000, while the commodity is retailed at N350 as against N250 per cup.

The survey further reveals that a four-litre container of crayfish moved from N4,000 to N5,000, while a four-litre container of dry pepper, previously sold for between N5,000 and N7,000, now goes for between N8,000 and N9,000.

The price of a four-litre container of garri also recorded an increase from between N2,400 and N2,600 to N3,500.

A basket of tomatoes, which was sold for between N46,000 and N55,000, presently goes for between N75,000 and N80,000, while a carton of 70-gramme sachet tomato paste went up from between N5,000 and N6,000 to between N8,000 and N9,000.

A kilogramme of Mackerel and Scumbia fish, which sold for N3,500 a month ago, dropped to N2,800, while a kilogramme of chicken went up from N4,500 to N5,500.

In separate interviews, some of the retailers described the decline in the cost of some food items as a welcome development.

They blamed the current inflation and removal of fuel subsidies for the steady rise in the price of most food items in the market.

A foodstuff seller in the market, who identified herself simply as Mama Nkechi, said the drop in the price of some items gave people “hope that things would get better.”

“The high cost of food items is seriously affecting my business because my daily sales have continued to move on a downward trajectory,” she added.

Another foodstuff seller, Obiefuna Diala, attributed the rise in the price of food items to the high cost of transportation and fuel subsidy removal.

Mr Diala also said the fuel subsidy removal had caused transport fares to constantly skyrocket, thereby shooting up the cost of transporting goods to the market.

He also blamed the price increase on certain goods on “baseless speculations” by wholesalers about the foreign exchange, even when the naira had appreciated significantly.

Also, a shop owner, Kalu Udensi, said although the price of some food items had come down, there were others, including garri, that have continued to rise, notwithstanding the stable value of the naira in the foreign exchange market.

Mr Kalu said, “The high cost of food items is affecting the price of other items, such as garri because farmers and traders sell at prices to be able to cover their expenses and make a profit to meet up the current cost of living.”

(NAN)