The prices of some perishable foods in Lagos have dropped by about 50 percent amid the ongoing nationwide hunger protest, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The protest, with the hashtag #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria, is aimed at drawing the Federal Government's attention to the economic hardship facing Nigerians and is scheduled to end on August 10.
Traders and buyers at the Ile-Epo food market in the Alimosho/Agege area of Lagos state noted the decline in prices. The market witnessed fewer activities than usual due to the protest.
Rabiu Aliu, a tomato trader at Ile-Epo market, mentioned that the prices of perishable food items like tomatoes and chili peppers had significantly dropped to minimize losses caused by low patronage during the protest. He reported that a 50kg basket of tomatoes now sells for between N40,000 and N50,000, down from N80,000 to N100,000 two weeks ago, while a 25kg basket now sells for between N18,000 and N19,000, compared to N30,000 to N40,000 previously. Aliu attributed this drop to the low purchasing power of customers.
Similarly, another trader, Mukit Afolabi, confirmed the price drop, citing the protest as a contributing factor. She noted that on the first day of the protest, tomatoes were particularly cheap due to the lack of buyers.
Afolabi said, "On Day 1 of the protest, tomatoes were even cheaper because there was no one to buy. I bought 5kg basket of tomatoes at N4,000. As of two weeks ago, it sold for N12,000. So, I think the protest is contributory to the drop in price.
"However, rodo (scotch bonnet pepper) is still expensive. On Monday, a bag was sold for N40,000 but today, a bag sells at N84,000 because it is currently unavailable in the market. No produce truck has delivered any pepper since Wednesday, the day before the protest began."
Ibrahim Ahmed, a foodstuff trader, also observed a decrease in the price of rice and beans. He stated that a 50kg bag of short-grain rice now sells for N73,000, down from N83,000 last month, while a 50kg bag of long-grain rice sells for N78,000, down from N87,000 to N88,000. Honey beans now sell for N10,000 per paint bucket, down from N12,000 in July, with other varieties selling for between N8,000 and N9,000.
Conversely, the prices of groundnut oil and palm oil have increased. Hope Osagie, a trader at the Agege Market, reported that a 25-liter container of groundnut oil now sells for N60,000, up from N38,000 a month ago, while a 25-liter container of palm oil sells for N36,000, up from N27,000 in July. Osagie noted that food prices have been unpredictable.
A buyer, Anuoluwa Olayinka, expressed excitement over the drop in tomato prices, buying as much as she could afford. She observed that there were few people in the market, which was unusual for a Friday, leading traders to sell off their goods to minimize losses. Another buyer, Ada Uzor, remarked that food prices are unpredictable but believed the protest had contributed to the slight drop in some item prices.
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