As Muslims prepare for the Eid El-Kabir festivities, they’ll need to reconsider their menu choices due to a significant surge in the price of fresh tomatoes across Lagos markets, soaring over 100% just in the month of May.
Traders point to the usual seasonal fluctuations in tomato production quantity as the main culprit behind this spike.
They explain that the current species of tomatoes reaching the market is nearing the end of its harvest period, coinciding with the onset of the rainy season nationwide.
Umar Tanko, a tomato vendor at Mile 12 Market, disclosed to Nairametrics that premium quality fresh tomatoes, which fetched between N50,000 and N80,000 per basket in April, now command prices ranging from N140,000 to N150,000.
Similarly, lower-quality tomatoes, often damaged during transportation from the North to the South, are now priced between N60,000 and N100,000, depending on the extent of damage. Contrastingly, just last month, a basket of similar quality tomatoes could be bought for N30,000.
While tomatoes typically steal the spotlight, fresh pepper, another essential ingredient in the beloved Jollof rice, has also experienced a nearly 100% price hike in the past month.
Shefiu, a tomato vendor at Flour Food Market in Ikorodu, Lagos, echoed the sentiment, attributing the tomato price surge to reduced supply with the onset of the rainy season.
He explained that rainfall has commenced in the North, signaling the end of the current tomato species available for consumption.
He suggested that importing tomatoes from neighboring countries like Cameroon and Ghana could help alleviate the supply shortage.
On prices, Shefiu said, “We sold the custard bucket of tomatoes last month for N4,000 and N5,000. But now, I sell it for N10,000. Mine is cheap because I have someone supplying me directly from Kano. I don’t buy from Mile 12.”
Additionally, Nairametrics’ investigations into tomato prices across Lagos, Edo, Abuja, and Delta during May revealed a consistent upward trend.
In Delta State, residents in Effurun and Warri voiced concerns about the minimal purchase price for tomatoes, set at N500, with a basket of high-quality tomatoes fetching between N120,000 to N140,000.
Meanwhile, in Onitsha, Anambra State, a basket of tomatoes fluctuated between N110,000 to N140,000.
This surge in tomato prices compounds the ongoing inflation predicament faced by Nigerians.
April marked the 16th consecutive month of year-on-year inflation escalation, tracing back to December 2022, the last time inflation declined.
Although food inflation experienced modest growth in April, reaching 40.53%, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Food Price Watch for April reported a staggering 131.58% year-on-year increase in the price of 1kg of tomatoes between April 2023 and April 2024.
Moreover, there was a 17.06% rise in the average price of 1kg of tomatoes from March to April 2024.
A recent SBM Intelligence Jollof Rice Index highlighted a significant escalation in the average cost of preparing Jollof rice across major cities in the country, soaring from N13,106 in October 2023 to N17,000 in March 2024.
The uptick in prices of essential Jollof rice ingredients, particularly tomatoes and fresh peppers, could further strain household budgets as Eid El-Kabir approaches.
This development, as underscored by the SBM Intelligence report, may herald a looming “crisis at the table.”
(Nairametrics)
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
