That the cost of food is increasingly out of the reach of most consumers is perhaps no longer news. To adapt, however, people are finding cheaper alternatives to food they typically preferred to consume.
Taste, appetite and other culinary preferences are giving way to what the pocket can afford, and not what people necessarily want to eat, or perhaps need to consume for nutrition or dietary purposes.
“People are shifting more to wheat and plantain flour as against yam flour,” said Sakirat Ahmed, a foodstuff trader at the Mile 12 Market in Lagos, noting, “If you look at the price, you will understand why. They are also mixing wheat with dry plantain because it is cheaper.”
According to Chioma Nwaike, a pasta seller, the high cost of rice and beans is making people shift more to pasta as an alternative. But, this is also having a consequence, as she said, “Just yesterday, the price for pasta increased because of surge in demand.”
Ezeji Christian, a trader who owns a little garden around Agboju, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, told BusinessDay that since food prices started going up, he had to improvise a food substitute using grounded plantain, cocoyam and cassava.
“If you are hungry, your brain will be more effective,” Christian said, adding he had to think out of the box to invent a more nourishing substitute by grinding plantain for garri, which he had been taking in the past four months, prepared as ‘swallow.’
“I have started planting fresh sets of cocoyam so when the grounded one finishes, I can harvest some more cocoyam. So, many people have cocoyam but do not know they can use it as a substitute for garri and semo,” he told BusinessDay.
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He further explained that because of the absence of starch in cocoyam, he had to buy dried cassava, which he mixes with the cocoyam and grinds them together to give it the starchy feel.
To cope with the increase in food prices, millions of Nigerians are forced to shift to cheaper food substitutes or in some cases, making drastic cuts to their food intake. Exploring new options is how the middle-class and low-income consumers are trying to cushion the effect of rising food prices in ensuring they live within their budget.
“There is always that re-budgeting since you have limited income sources and prices are increasing. So, if you spend N50,000 on food monthly and what you use to buy before is much higher now, then you have to seek alternatives to be able to stick within your budget,” noted Ayorinde Akinloye, a consumer analyst at United Capital plc.
Similarly, Damilola Adewale, a Lagos-based economic analyst, noted that there could be some health implications in terms of malnutrition, “but the truth is these people are not concerned about that. They are only after survival.”
Stella Adebanjo, a staple food trader, told BusinessDay that the rise in prices was affecting her as a seller because she cannot afford to buy the quantity she would have bought from suppliers for her own retail.
“The only substitute for egg is meat, but meat is twice as expensive as eggs so people would rather eat a bowl of rice without meat or egg,” said Adebanjo, adding, “The most important thing is that they have food to eat.”
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food prices accelerated to 22.9 percent in March 2021, the highest record. The rise in food prices has continued at a time the incomes of Nigerians have been badly affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An NBS survey shows about eight out of every 10 Nigerian households are raising an alarm of rising food prices, with 58 percent of the total number reducing their food consumption between July and December 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Findings from a BusinessDay survey of major markets across Lagos State such as Mile 12, Alaba, Agboju-Amuwo Odofin, Yaba and local provision stores, among other findings, show: a paint-bucket of yam flour sold at N2,500 from N1,500, has made consumers shift to wheat, which sells for N1,200 from N800 previously. Another option is plantain flour, which sells for N1,800 from N1, 200 previously, but still far cheaper than the yam flour.
Rice, which sells for N2,300 for a paint-bucket from N1,500 and same quantity of beans, which sells for N2,200 from N1,500, has led to a higher demand for pasta and noodles. With the law of demand and supply, the prices for those are also increasing. For instance, a 500g Golden Penny pasta, which costs N180 now goes for N250; a 500g Dangote pasta brand, which costs N170 now goes for N220. A carton of indomie, which costs about N1,500 now also goes for N2,300.
As alternatives also respond to demand with price increments, consumers may soon have to devise new options to escape.
