Nigerian households are switching to tomato paste, banga stew, and garden egg sauce as the price of fresh tomatoes surges 188 percent year to date.
The price spike is forcing families to abandon fresh tomatoes in favor of cheaper alternatives amid erratic supply and rising transportation costs.
The price jump comes as Tuta Absoluta, popularly called ‘Tomato Ebola’ invaded farmlands in Kaduna, Kano and Plateau states, among others, Nigeria’s major growing region of the fresh fruits.
BusinessDay’s survey across major markets in Lagos showed that a big basket of fresh tomatoes now sells for an average of N115,000 as against 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 sold for 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 worsens the cost of living for low-income households as they struggle to maintain traditional recipes that heavily rely on tomatoes and pepper this holiday, and also a setback to federal government efforts at stabilising food prices.
“I need at least N15,000 to make a pot of stew with the current price of fresh tomatoes in the market. But with dried tomatoes, tomato paste and fresh pepper, I use N7,500 in making my stew,” said Amaka Olademeji, a businesswoman who was at Mile 12 Market to make a purchase.
“We are all struggling to survive daily, so we are looking for an alternative that is cheaper and pocket-friendly,” she noted.
Rotimi Adegoroye, a tailor, said she now uses banga sauce for her rice and yams. “We have switched to banga sauce or garden egg stew since the recent surge in the prices of fresh tomatoes.”
She explained that prices of everything keep surging and that households across the country are struggling to survive.
A trader in Ile-Epo Market in Lagos, who simply gave her name as Bashirat, said residents are looking for dried tomatoes and pepper to purchase.
“The demand for dried tomatoes has surged since the sharp rise in the prices of fresh tomatoes,” she noted. “Demand for banga and garden eggs has also risen because it is what people are using in place of fresh tomato stew now,” she added.
The Iran war is taking a toll on Nigeria’s economy, with oil prices surging due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region.
The situation has led to a renewed cost-of-living crisis, affecting millions of households across the country.
In a country where the minimum wage rate is N70,000, or below $60 per month, the high cost of transportation and renewed cost-of-living have left many Nigerians making calculated steps in spending.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate accelerated to 15.93 percent and food inflation to 16.96 percent in May 2026. No fewer than 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
About 35 million Nigerians are projected to face acute food insecurity between June and August, due to worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and climate shocks.
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