Prices of garri (cassava flakes), a Nigerian staple food, has jumped in some major Enugu markets, according to a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

A correspondent of NAN, who visited some markets in Enugu on Saturday, reports that the prices of white and red garri had increased by about 90 per cent.

Some garri sellers attributed the price hike scarcity of cassava due to off-season of the tuber.

Miss Felicia Ozoemena, a garri seller at New market, said that the price of a 4.5 litres bucket of white garri that was sold for N350 before, now cost N650.

Ozoemena also said that a 4.5 litres bucket of red garri goes for N900 as against the previous price of N550.

Another garri dealer at Garki market, Mr Uche Igwesi disclosed that a bag of garri previously selling at N14,000 is now selling at N22,000.

“The prices of foodstuffs like garri are always high during planting season but during the harvest period, they become cheaper.

“Due to lack of facilities to preserve the produce after harvesting, many produce go bad, therefore, leading to prices hike,’’ Igwesi said.

Another seller at Mayor Market, who did not want to be identified, said that the increase in prices was because many people had left farming.

“When many farmers went into cassava farming in 2017, the price of garri dropped significantly,’’ she said.

A buyer at Ogbete Main Market, Mrs Ngozi Egwu, expressed worry at the sudden rise in the prices of garri, adding that there was no much money in circulation.

A farmer, Mr Onwuka Ndubisi urged the public to embrace cassava farming so that there would be surplus of garri in the next harvest season.

“Surplus of cassava would definitely bring about crash in the price of garri if we all go into cassava farming, Egwu said. (NAN)

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