Friday, 25 October 2013

Food Prices Go Down After Sallah

The prices of basic foodstuffs have witnessed a sharp decline 10 days after theEid-el Kabir celebration across the country and following post-harvest surpluses.

Our correspondent, who visited some markets in Lagos and Ogun states between Monday and Thursday, learnt that almost all the food items that recorded hike in prices before and during the festivity had now experienced a drop in their prices.

Traders, who spoke to our correspondent, explained that the drop in demand for some foodstuffs was responsible for the drop in food prices.

It was also learnt that post-harvest surpluses drove down the prices of some major foodstuffs.

For instance, at the Ketu Market, a basket of tomatoes, which sold for N8,000 on the average some days to Sallah, is now selling for N6,500.

A sack of pepper before the festivity sold for N5,500 but has now dropped to N4,500, while a sack of onion, which sold for N24,000 last Monday, now goes for N22,000.

At the Berger Market, a pepper seller told our correspondent that she bought a basket of tomatoes for N8,500 some days to Sallah, but that the same basket was now selling for N7,500.

The pepper seller said, “Demand increased some days before the Sallah, so pepper prices went up, which is normal when there is excess demand, but after the festival, the whole market was flooded with excess supply, which made the prices to fall.”

The Federal Government had last month signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a private firm, African Exchange Holdings, to build 800 warehouses across the country to mitigate post-harvest losses being currently suffered by farmers.

It regretted that about 40 per cent of farm produce were being wasted each harvest year, hence the need for the construction of the warehouses.

Also, the prices of different sizes of ram, which was an important menu during the Eid-el Kabir festival, have dropped sharply as demand has waned since Wednesday.

A ram seller at the Kara Market, Isheri, Ogun State, told our correspondent that the biggest size, which was selling for N170,000 before the Sallah festivities, was now selling for N140,000, while the smallest size, which sold for N35,000 before the celebration, was now going for N28,000.

The ram seller, who identified himself simply as Aminu, added, “The prices of our rams dropped immediately after the Sallah day. The rams we sold for N80,000 last week is now going for N65,000. The ones we sold for N50,000 now sell for N35,000.”

In Abuja, it was learnt that the prices of ram had also recorded a sharp drop at the various markets.Source: http://www.punchng.com


No comments:

Post a Comment