By Mike Adeyemi
Prices of foodstuffs have skyrocketed in Kwara State, with traders and consumers expressing concern over the incessant increase in prices, a market survey by National Pilot has shown.
The prices of food items like rice, beans, onion, maize, millet, sorghum, tomato, pepper, palm oil and yam, have all skyrocketed.
National Pilot survey at the Mandate market showed that the price of onions had almost doubled in the last one month, as a bag, which was sold for N50,000 in October, is now sold between N90,000 and N100,000.
Four small pieces of onions, which cost N50 in October can now be purchased for N200.
This medium also observed that the prices of yam followed similar pattern, as a dozen of big yam, which was sold for N4,800 in October, is now between N9,000 and N10,000.
Mr Yabuk Olarongbe, a yam seller at the popular Ganmo market, said five pieces of medium yam tubers, which were sold between N1,500 and N1,800 in October, are now between N2,500 and N3,000.“
“We are selling based on how much we bought the food item. We usually travel to Alapa, Kishi and Minna to buy them and we have to add the cost of transport, hence the price increase,” he said.
Mrs Taibat Gazali, who sells palm oil at Obo Road market, Ilorin, said that a 25 litre keg of palm oil, which used to cost N11,000 about a month ago, is now sold for N13,500.
“Only God knows what the future holds for foodstuff prices in the country,” she lamented.
However, it was gathered that before the COVID-19 pandemic, a 25-litre keg of palm oil was sold between N8,000 and N9,000 in major markets within Ilorin metropolis.
Although the commodity increased to N12,000 shortly after the pandemic, it is now sold for N14,000 in most markets in Kwara.
At the popular Yoruba Raod market, a bag of beans, which the price fluctuated between N19,000 and N23,000 in October, is now sold for N28,000, while a plastic measure of the foodstuff has increased from N350 in October to N550 in November.
Rice, however, maintained a fairly stable price, as a bag of 50kg, which was sold for N22,000 in October is now sold for N23,000 I most markets across Kwara State, with a plastic measure hovering between N700 and N800, up from the N600 it was sold in October this year.
Our medium, however, revealed a downward trend in the prices of Garri, Tomato and pepper in some of the markets.
At Ipata market, a wholesale trader, Alhaja Jumoke Abdulaalam, said a bag of onion, which was sold for N12,000 at the onset of the novel corona virus early this year is now N30,000, while price of a bag of beans has increased from N15,000 to N30,000 within the same period.
According to Abdulsalam , the price of maize has gone up too, with a bag now N17,000 up from N8,000. She added that a 25-litre keg of palm oil, which was sold for N7,000 before, is now N15,000, while vegetable oil price had jumped from N12,000 to N17,000.She attributed the hike in prices of the foodstuffs to fuel price increase, poor infrastructure, and lack of adequate rainfall in the year.
“For onion, which is being brought from the North, it takes transporters like a week before reaching Ilorin and they have to factor the transportation cost into the price,” she said.
The business woman however advised that the government should provide modern storage facilities for preserving onions in the country to prevent frequent scarcity of the commodity, particularly during off-season.
She further attributed the hike in prices of most foodstuffs to climate change and insecurity in many states of the North.
Mrs. Tawakalitu Jimoh, a tomato seller at Oja-Oba market, Ilorin and Mrs. Kubura Adeyinka, a housewife, decried the rate at which prices of foodstuffs kept going up in the last one month.
While Jimoh complained of low sales, caused by the price increase, Adeyinka said that huge sums of money now chase fewer goods, with incomes remaining stagnant.
A civil servant, Mr Rasheed Olosun, called on the government to urgently address the looming food crisis in the country by introducing a price control mechanism to save the masses from imminent hunger.
