Nigeria’s consumers are facing a surge in tomato prices, with costs skyrocketing across the country. The sharp increase has left many families scrambling for alternatives, highlighting the vegetable’s growing unaffordability.
As of June, BusinessDay’s market data analysis shows that the fresh vegetable prices were up nearly 188 percent year to date. Across Lagos, a big basket of fresh tomatoes averages N115,000, as compared to an average of N40,000 sold in January.
A small basket sells for N20,000 as against N7,000 sold in January. The average price of a crate of fresh tomatoes is N65,000.
Also, a 25kg bag of pepper, popularly known as ‘Rodo’, now sells for an average of N120,000 in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub—four times its price of N30,000 in January 2025.
The price surge has been attributed to a combination of issues ranging from pest infestation to high logistic costs, climate change, and seasonality.
Pest infestation ravages farms
Farmers interviewed by BusinessDay point Tuta Absoluta, popularly called ‘Tomato Ebola’ invasion on tomato farms across key producing states.
Musa Idris, a tomato farmer in Kano, explained that tomato farmlands in major growing states have recorded a high percentage loss owing to Tuta Absoluta.
Idris noted that the situation has caused a demand supply shortfall of the commodity, hence a surge in prices of the fresh vegetable.
Tuta Absoluta has a reputation for swiftly ravaging tomato cultivation in a little above 48 hours – prompting farmers to nickname it Tomato Ebola. It can breed between 10 and 12 generations in a year, with the female capable of laying between 250 and 300 eggs within its lifetime.
High transportation costs
The cost of fuel and diesel has jumped by 89 percent and 115 percent, respectively, year to date, according to BusinessDay’s market checks. However, the skyrocketing fuel prices are dropping marginally as global crude prices fall to their lowest since the war began. The marginal decrease is yet to translate to lower transportation costs.
Prices of staples are surging again, and food inflation climbed to 16.69 percent in May from 16.06 percent recorded in April, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, as a persistent surge in fuel and diesel prices quickens the country’s headline inflation to 15.93 percent in May.
Prices of tomatoes, onions, and peppers have recorded significant increases in recent weeks, forcing many households to adjust their spending for the celebrations.
The costs of transporting a J5 truck of fresh tomatoes from a major growing region in the north to Lagos and other parts of the country have almost doubled.
“We also have a supply side issue to the shortfall in the market,” Idris said. “Prices of transportation have increased drastically since the hike in fuel and diesel prices. This extra cost has to be transferred to the final consumer,” he added.
Seasonality
Tomatoes do not do well during the rainy season, so farmers reduce their production areas during the wet season. Farmers say the situation is likely to persist until the dry season sets in and production increases.
“Tomatoes do not do well during the rainy season. It is a dry-season crop. Lots of farmers grow less of it during the wet season, except those using controlled environments and there are very few,” Mohammed Danladi, a tomato farmer in Kano state, said.
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