Prices of garri, tomatoes, others drop in Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu

NAN survey

The prices of garri, a major staple food, and tomatoes, have dropped significantly in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, bringing some respite to many households in the area.

A survey carried out by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in major markets in Awka, Anambra, showed that a bag of garri now costs N75,000 as against N90,000 in June.

Also, a basket of tomatoes, which sold for N100,000 in June, has come down to between N80,000 and N85,000.

A paint bucket of the commodity came down from N12,000 in June to between N7,000 and N6,000.

Similarly, the price of a bag of chilli pepper reduced from N120,000 to N60,000, while a paint bucket that sold for N8,000 now sells for N3,500.

A paint bucket of Cayenne pepper, known as Sombo, dropped from N15,000 to N10,000.

Furthermore, a paint bucket of crayfish, which was sold at N6,500, now goes for N5,000.

A bag of onions now sells for N110,000, as against N130,000 in June.

A bag of potatoes also came down from N18,000 to N13,000.

A tuber of new yam now sells for between N3,000 and N5,000, depending on the size.

A foodstuff seller, Mrs Chinenye Uba, attributed the drop in the prices of yam, potatoes, tomatoes, pepper and onions to the harvest season.

According to her, the prices of other food items, such as beans and rice, are still high in the market.

A 50-kg bag of beans, which was sold for N240,000 in June, now goes for N260,000.

Uba said the high cost of transportation was largely responsible for the high cost of foodstuffs because they were mostly brought in from other states.

“I believe that if the Federal Government can reduce the price of fuel, prices of food items will also come down,” she said.

A farmer, Mr Godwin Mbadugha, attributed the gradual decrease in the prices of foodstuffs to season variations.

“Many food items are being harvested during this period; so, when there is an increase in supply, prices will likely reduce.

“Farmers return to farm during the rainy season, which is when we usually experience hike in prices but during the harvest period, prices come down,” Mbadugha said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chukwuma Soludo on August 5, launched the Anambra “Farm to Feed” campaign as part of his administration’s efforts to tackle hunger and food insecurity in the state.

Soludo said the campaign was aimed at encouraging and mobilising residents, especially youths and women, to venture into farming in order to boost food and cash crop production in the state.

“The farm-to-feed campaign is a simple partnership deal with farmers to end hunger within the next 12 months.

“If everyone starts producing, the pressure on food prices will reduce,” the governor had said.

During the launch, tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, watermelon, onions, okro, carrot, yam, potatoes and oil palm seedlings were freely distributed to more than 5,000 farmers.

In Ebonyi, prices of foodstuffs have continued to soar in Abakaliki, the state capital.

NAN reports that a paint bucket of iron beans sells between N9,500 and N10,500.

A 100-kg bag of beans sells for as high as N225,000, N205,000 and N180,000, depending on the type.

NAN reports that price reduction only applied to garri, a major staple food in many households.