Consumers, traders groan over rapid increase in foodstuff, other commodity prices

Some consumers and traders in Kwara have decried the rising cost of food items and other commodities.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Thursday that rice and other foodstuff were getting beyond ordinary citizens.

According to the respondents, rice had become food for the rich and festivities, and not for the poor.

“My children love rice, before now we eat rice almost everyday, but I have made them to realise we cannot continue to eat it like before, it has to be once a week.

“A bowl of rice now costs between N1,200 and N1,300, and this is what we eat at once, because we are a family of six with teenagers.

“There is actually nothing that is not expensive, you cannot even substitute rice with noodles or spaghetti, they are equally expensive, something quick has to be done about this inflation rate,” Mrs Bunmi Afolabi, a housewife and trader, said.

Mr Adamu Abdullahi, an artisan, told NAN that: “We are 15 persons living in my house, normally we cook a paint of rice, but now we do not even cook rice in my house again, we only get to eat it at ceremonies.

“The cost of food commodities especially rice is alarming, thank God it is yam season, we eat more of yam now; though yam is not as cheap as it ought to be, but it is still manageable.

“We do not have money, and here we are starving indirectly because of inflation in the country. Where do we turn to?

“As much as the commonman is praying for things to get better, the government should also look at doing all it can to reduce this hardship,” he appealed.

A rice trader, who simply identified herself as Ajoke, blamed the rise in price to economic instability in the country.

Ajoke, who said a bag of rice now costs between N38,000 and N42,000, attributed the soaring prices to unstable foreign exchange.

“Now that the Naira is over N700 in the markets, it is expected that things will become the more expensive.

“Inflation is staring us in the face and it seems we are not doing anything about it.

“Rice is one food that Nigerian families cannot afford not to have at home, but here we are no one is even coming to buy.

“We the traders are also affected, the patronage is very low and I am not happy about it,” she said.

A yam trader, Madam Saidat Abubakar, and Mr Ismail Bako who sell beans, both said that patronage of their commodities was low because people are complaining of financial crunch.

Abubakar said a pack of six medium sized tubers of yam sold for N3,000 to N3,500, while bigger sizes ranged from N4,500 and above, saying that it was still quite expensive to what is expected.

Bako on his part said that a bowl of beans now sold for as high as N800.

He also said that all commodities had increased and other wares in the market.

“I just pray this situation will change,” he said.

A farmer, Mr Remi Adedayo, however said that the heavy rains had also contributed to the hike in price of rice.

Adedayo said that roads have been damaged by flood waters, making it difficult for transportation of the commodity to market places.

“We believe the price of rice will come down after the rainy season. Transporting the product from one place to the other is a bit difficult now.

“The roads are bad, some trucks get stuck on their way and eventually some of the rice bags get spoilt because of the rains.

“That is partly why there is scarcity and increase in prices,” Adedayo explained.