Amidst the recession Nigeria is presently battling, the prices of some basic food items have crashed.
The rise in the price of the commodities came after President Muhammadu Buhari said he was disturbed by how people tend to make brisk profits by increasing the prices of food and fruits at times like this.
A survey conducted at Ile-Epo market, it was It was discovered that the prices of some food items have witnessed a relative reduction as a result of its availability.
Iya Zainab who sells kitchen utensils while commenting on the reduction in prices of the products, said manufacturers decided to cut down the products prices in order to attract many people to make purchases.
She said: “Buyers come into the market and not patronizing us, this is affecting us the traders and as well the manufacturers. The rush of the festivity has not been there lately, this then led to the decision by the manufacturing companies to reduce the prices of their product, in order to attract sales.
“There will be an increase in the sales of our products due to the reduced rates; we expect positive response from our customers as the year ends.”
It was also learnt that the prices of food items have increased while others have reduced. For fruits like pineapple, pawpaw, orange and water melon, the prices have reduced while imported fruits like, plum, grape, and pear are more expensive.
Tomatoes, fish, fruits, dry pepper and crayfish among others staple foods have reduced a bit as the festive period draws near.
Traders who sell fish, chicken and turkey at the market however said they are happy to announce the reduction in the prices of the commodities, adding that they can only sell at the price they bought.
Iya Tolu, a trader who sells fish said: “a carton of Titus fish that sells for N30,000 in previous weeks now goes for N27,000 while a carton of Kote cost N15,000. This was due to the fall in the exchange rate, because we buy from neighbouring countries.”
Another trader in the market who sells meat, Alfa Saliu says despite the hike in previous weeks, the turnout has been encouraging.
He said that although customers complained about the prices, they still buy and some in large quantity, because they cannot do without cooking food.
In the market also, the price of vegetable oil and palm oil has gone up. Traders say the current administration is responsible for the hike.
“Before I use to buy 20 gallons of palm-oil, but now I end up buying 5 gallons; because the money for the 20 gallons is what amounts to the price of 5 gallons.
“Now you buy a keg for N20,000 and then you buy ten kegs for N200,000, this means things has gone from bad o worse. Because now, the goods are available in the market but the people do not have the money to buy them, this leads to shortage at the end of the day,” a trader who sells who sells palm-oil in the market laments.
Meanwhile, the price of rice, beans, garri and other foodstuff items have been relatively low as observed in the market.
