Rising Food Stuff Costs, Other Items Worries Traders

Some traders at the Rumuwoji market popularly known as mile 1 Market have decried the continuous increase in the prices of food stuff and other items in the ember season. This was made known by the traders when The Tide correspondence visited the market recently. The traders revealed varying changes in the prices of foodstuffs, with some commodities recording higher increase than others . A trader Mrs Charity Obinna, at the market, said the price of yam remained the same last week and this week compared to the prices from last month to this month, adding that only a difference of about ?100 to ?200 was seen. Another trader, Chukwuebuka Livinus who deals on garri, reported that the prices of some food commodities had been changing frequently. According to him, the price of a bag of garri increased from ?45,000 last week to ?58,000 this week, representing an increase of ?13,000. Livinus described the increase as scary and called on the government to do something about it, especially as we get closer to the festive period. A trader that deals on vegetables, Mrs Joy reported that a significant increase in the prices of pepper rose from ?20,000 last week to ?40,000 this week. Similarly, the price of a bag of melon (egusi) increased from ?420,000 to ?490,000 this week. In a separate report, Mrs Charity Obinna said that foodstuffs were generally cheaper last month than this month, with price differences ranging from ?150 to ?200 for some items. Meanwhile, Giff Okoro reported a decrease in the price of tomatoes. According to her, a quantity of tomatoes that cost ?45,000 last month now sells for ?25,000, indicating a reduction of ?20,000. Another trader, Usman Ibrahim said the cost of transporting goods from the communities to urban areas where they are sold is one of the major reasons for high cost of goods. He said transport cost has doubled due to the cost of petroleum products in Nigeria, adding the whole cost is part of the goods because “entrepreneurs must cover their cost and make their gains . Ibrahim called on the government to help farmers and traders even with little capitals to expand and sustain their business. Another trader, Mrs Choice Promise a fish retailer said a cartoon which sold at #35,000 last week now sells at #50,000 . Promise complained that there is no gain or profit because the price has drastically increase and most people cannot afford to buy fish again. Wali Chioma/ Obasi Chidinma,/ Amarachi Uche