Traders Link Fall In Food Prices To Low Demand, Fuel Price Slash

The prices of rice, beans, maize and other grains witnessed about 30 per cent price drop, a development that was attributed to a drop in purchasing power and fuel pump price, LEADERSHIP learnt

Similarly, some experts attributed the recent drop in prices of food stuff to the impact of several federal government interventions in the agric sector, that is now beginning to bear good fruits, even as few traders interviewed attributed it to Naira resurgence as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention in the forex sector.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP,  the secretary of Onigbongbo Millers Association, Sunday Ogwurumba, confirmed a marginal drop in the price of maize.

Ogwurumba, said, previously a bag of maize sells for N80, 000 a bag but now sells for N60, 000 and N70,000 depending on the grade.

He attributed the price drop to lower demand, saying, previously millers get orders in advance from customers who use the maize or millet paste for various uses like bean balls, soya milk and ‘agidi’ or ‘eko; (local menu) used for breakfast.

He also said, the prices are subject to seasons and changes in transportation cost.

Oluwole Kehinde, a lawyer and a farmer said, there is no verifiable data to show cost reduction but that farmers could sell at different prices due to demand and supply.

However,  he said while other farm produce may be higher like yam and cocoyam, grains may have seen a marginal drop in price because some of them are not affected by exchange rate in terms of output.

In addition he said, the fluctuating prices of petroleum products may have influenced the price change as cost of transportation is also dropping.

A Lagos businesswoman, Nse Fache who confirmed the price drop noted that, a bag of small grains of rice is N67,000, but last year, it went as high as N92,000, even as she said, beans have drastically dropped in price, adding that, “I recall the size I bought for N10,000 is now N6,000. Garri as well has dropped in price.

“Garri is now between N1,500 and N2,000 per small paint bucket , depending on the type of garri. Before now, I bought a paint bucket of Ijebu garri at N3,500; now it is N2,500. But you can get other garri between N1,500 and N2,000 for a paint bucket.

“A brand of semolina, 5 kilograms in weight, that was N8,500, is now sold for N7,000.

Things are happening in Nigeria. We are becoming happy little by little. You know, fuel is the problem for everything. Now that the price of fuel is reducing, it is also affecting the price of commodities, and that is what you are seeing.

A civil servant living in Lagos, Ogunbowale Oluwaseun, said: “Beans have come down in price. For instance, honey beans are now between N6,500 and N7,000 for a paint measurement. This is against the N12,000 it was sold for last year.

“I also bought a rubber paint bucket of drum beans for N5,000. This has come down.

Also, the price of groundnut oil has decreased. A 5-litre bottle of King’s oil that was sold for N23,000 can now be bought for N19,000. For small grains of rice, the price is now N67,000, whereas it was previously sold for N90,000. Long grain rice is between N90,000 and N100,000, compared to N130,000 last year.

“As for wheat, I bought a bucket paint measurement at N5,000 last year, but it is now sold at N4,000. Guinea corn was N4,000 last year but it is now sold for N3,500.”

When asked what could be the reason for the drop in prices, she said, ‘the foreign exchange rate is coming down, which I suspect is one factor, and also the petrol price is dropping as well.’ Likewise, she said, a plastic of millet, which was sold for N3,700 sells for N3,000 and a bag of millet formerly sold for N90,000 is being sold in the market for N85,000.

A sharp reduction is seen in beans which formerly sold for N105,000 now sells for N80,000.

Moreso, she stressed that 25 litres of palm oil keg sold for between N 63,000 to N65,000 is now being sold for N39,000 with other expenses totaling N45,000 while the price of a bag of maize formerly sold for N90,000 is now N80,000.

An Ogun State trader, Dada Atinuke, disclosed that, as at January, a ‘derica’ of rice was being sold at N1,400 but as at yesterday , it was sold at N1,100. Similarly, she said, a ‘derica’ of beans which contains 5 milk tin, was sold for N1,700 last year, but now hovers between N900 and N1,000. A small paint bucket of Garri now being sold at N1,900 had earlier traded at N2,400.