There is no doubt that the hike in food prices since the beginning of 2024 has taken another dimension, with goods generating different price tags daily.

This is a result of soaring inflation, which has eaten deep into the purchasing power of many Nigerians, taking away staple foods from the table of many and increasing the poverty level in the country.

Speaking with Vanguard, market leaders from Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Ogun states decried the consistent surge in the prices of foodstuffs, which has exacerbated hunger among the citizens.

It’s been hard for traders —Ado-Ekiti market leaders

The leader of the market women association, Oja-Oba in Ado-Ekiti, Medinah Ibrahim, noted that the past few weeks in 2024 have been hard for traders compared to 2023.

Ibrahim warned that if the excruciatingly painful economic hardship continues unabated, more people will be pushed below the poverty line before the end of the year.

She said almost all products and foodstuffs in the market have increased in price by more than 30%.

She said: “Look at that plastic Bournvita, last year it was around N5,000 but has now surged to N7,800.

“Yes, we sell them but we can’t afford to eat them as usual else, we will be stranded and we will have nothing to fall back on.

“A packet of spaghetti was N7,000 but has skyrocketed to almost N13,000.

“Things are terrible, we are losing customers, we are hungry. Increase in food prices has made life almost unbearable for all, even we as traders.”

Aside from the issue of poverty, food inflation and other cost of living, the market leader decried that sending her children to school in the country has also become a difficult task.

On her part, the Iyalaje of Provision Goods traders, Mopelola Olaoluwa, expressed her displeasure over the difficulties faced in sustaining customers as a result of the hike in food prices.

She asserted that prices of goods were still manageable in late 2023, but suddenly skyrocketed which has further led to depreciation in customer patronage.

Olaoluwa expressed her frustration that business is not only slow but also very difficult to break even due to the economic situation in the country.

She said: “If you buy an item of N1,000 today, it will be N1,200 tomorrow. If you are buying one carton today, tomorrow is half for the same price because everything is going higher every day.

“I agree there is no money in the town, if there’s money, it wouldn’t be like this. Let me tell you that Kings’ oil, formerly N17,000 per carton, now goes for N23,500, some are selling at N25,000. Chicken flavour Maggi was N20,000 last week, but rose to N25,000 this week.”

Also, Monisola Salawu, who is the Vice-President of the Raw Goods Traders, registered her frustration.

She said: “It wasn’t this bad before. A bag of rice was around N65,000 but last week, it increased to more than N80,000.

“Look at a bag of beans, I bought it for N88,000 last week but when I got to the market lately, it has skyrocketed to more than N100,000.

“Things in the market are now costly; we are losing customers because negotiations from them are not favourable to us.”

She also stated that the hardship has become unbearable, as families cannot pay house rent anymore. Prices of other staple foods are also unaffordable such that in most cases, the masses end up eating only once a day.

“The government should help us, we are hungry and everybody must eat. How do we eat when things are expensive and people don’t have money to buy them? This hunger is too much, it’s suffocating us the traders too.”

Nigeria’s situation is terrible, unprecedented —Erelu Iyaloja of Akureland

Expressing her frustration over the soaring prices of foodstuffs, the Erelu Iyaloja General of Akureland, Mrs Adefunmilayo Adekanye, described the development as unprecedented.

Adekanye said: “The development in Nigeria is terrible and unprecedented. The country is not smiling at all. Prices of food items have gone off the roof. Things are getting out of hand. It’s now tough to survive in Nigeria. There’s no amount of money you hold in your hands now that can purchase half of your needs. Prices are just jumping up daily.

“It’s absurd that what you bought today, you can’t meet it at that same price the next day. Where are we heading to in Nigeria?

“The soaring prices of food items in the market should be addressed quickly before something untoward happens.

“Things are hard for everybody. Our President should act fast and do the needful to bring succour to the suffering Nigerians. The soaring prices of food items are killing.”

Our members running out of business —Sasa pepper market leader

Similarly, pepper and tomato sellers in Osun State are worried that their members are at risk of running out of business if the situation continues.

Leader of the pepper and tomato sellers in the market, Popoola Gomna, said the rate at which cost is rising is unprecedented saying some major dealers cannot afford to bring goods anymore due to shocking price changes.

Gomna said: “We cannot imagine that a basket of tomato lands in Osun at N28,000 for major dealers, while a sack of pepper lands at the market for N80,000, what then do you expect of retailers?

“All of these are the result of insecurity in the northern part of the country, demand has outweighed supply because farmers cannot access their farms as a result of various security issues.” (Vanguard)

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