From Our Correspondent
Some foodstuff sellers at Ose Okwodu market in Onitsha North, Anambra State say they are not responsible for the regular hike in food prices.
The traders said this during an interactive session with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The commission visited the markets, on Thursday, in Onitsha.
TheNewsZenith reports that the FCCPC team visited Onitsha markets to identify factors causing the regular hike in food prices.
The traders, however, identified insecurity, high cost of transportation due to fuel subsidy removal, climate change and inadequate attention to agriculture, as some of the major factors causing the country’s skyrocketing prices of food items.
Mr Cyprian Onyejekwe, Secretary of Ose Okwodu Traders’ Union said farmers
were scared to go to farms due to insecurity.
“There is no longer a guarantee for the safety of farmers, who are the primary suppliers of food, in this country.
“They experienced kidnapping, killed or cattle destroy their farms.
“Even the traders who go to buy from the farms are usually attacked on the road and even pay heavily to settle ‘Agberos’ along the way. This is affecting farming and food supply.
“Usually, we spend about N1 million to transport goods from farm to markets but now we spend between N10 million and N15 million,” Onyejekwe said.
According to him, traders are not to blame for the hike in food prices.
“It is about the law of supply and demand. And it is only the government that can address these problems.
“If the government can address insecurity and strategise on mitigating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal, food supply will rise and prices will stabilise,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Emmanuel Ndubuisi, Chairman of the Grain Seed Dealers, said droughts resulting from climate change, destroyed farming output.
Ndubuisi said that Niger and Borno states, which are major producers of grains, could not produce enough to feed the nation.
“After planting season last year, drought damaged most of the crops. This led to low harvest.
“Before now, we offload a lorry load of grains three times a week. However, due to scarcity, we offload only once a week and it affected the cost of grains.
The price of a 100-kilogramme bag of beans rose from N10,000 to N220,000 and N260,000.
“Similarly, a bag of maize now cost between N90,000 and N189,000 from between N45,000 and N120,000.
“Prices of groundnut have also risen from N90,000 to N189,000. A bag of bambara nut now sells for N240,000,” Ndubuisi said.
Other dealers in tomatoes, pepper, fish, potatoes, yam and others also lamented about various challenges mitigating their cultivation.
They urged the federal government to make more budgetary allocations to the agricultural sector to boost food production.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Mr Jude Akonam, Zonal Coordinator of FCCPC Southeast, said the market survey was an indication of the government’s willingness to address to hike in food prices.
“Ose market is popularly known as a food hub because dealers bring most consumables here from across the country. From here, they distribute the food stocks across the state.
“We have interacted with the market leaders and traders to find out the reason for the price instability.
“And, they have proffered solutions, which will help the government to address the problems.
“People cannot plan and buy in bulk anymore due to spiral change in prices and FCCPC has a mandate to protect Nigerian consumers,” Akonam said.
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