Consumers groan over hike in food, household items

Consumers have expressed concerns over the incessant rise in commodity prices across various goods, especially on food and household items, which have taken toll on their income.

The development is impacting negatively on their wellbeing so much that some are being impoverished for their inability to meet with the rising cost of living.

Also, the price of pure water (sachet water), mostly consumed by the lower and middle classes in the society, has witnessed an increase by between 20 and 50 percent, causing much discomfort to millions of consumers who favour the sachet water because of its affordability.

Respondents to BusinessDay inquiry nationwide – Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Akwa, Lagos, Aba, among others, attribute it to the depreciation of the naira, as most of the packaging materials are imported, and the general rise in inflation level.

Market survey in Lagos shows prices increasing between 10 and 50 percent on most domestic items. For instance, a bag of sachet water, which sold at N100 some weeks ago, now goes for between N120 to N200 across the country.

A survey at Mile 12 Market shows that a bag of rice now sells for N13,000 against N10,500 some weeks ago, while there is also a sharp increase in the price of a bag of beans (drum), which goes for N23,000 against N21,000 a few weeks ago.

Similarly, the price of a bag of garri has gone up to N4,000 from N3,500 at Oshodi Market in Lagos, and 25kg of salt, which sold for N1,400 now goes for N1,800 at the same market.

Other food items that witnessed some rise include – 25 litres of Kings vegetable oil, which now sells for N8,500 against N7,200; a carton of Indomie noodles sells for N1,500 against N1,300; a bag of Ogbono sold at N50,000, now goes for N85, 000; a bag of dried pepper goes for N45,000 against N37,000; a carton of Gino sachet sells for N2,400 against N1,800; a carton of St. Louis sugar goes for N9,500 against N9,000, and a packet of Knorr seasoning cube now goes for N400 against N350.

The market research further reveals that the price of toiletries and provisions has also increased. A carton of Eva toilet soap now sells for N4,900 against its previous price of N3,550, while a roll of Rose toilet tissue, which formerly sold for N2,100, now sells for N2,600.

Tunde Adegbola, a trader at Mile 12 Market, who deals on grains, attributed the rise to extortions from law enforcement officials.

“We spend as much as N3,000 tipping off customs at Sango, police and even touts. At the end of the day, we end up spending up to N3,500 on the road, before the bags get to the shop. We have to add this to the price of the goods, else we won’t make any profit,” Adegbola told BusinessDay.

Ebere Nwaru, a seller at Oshodi Market, said the price increase was driving customers away, saying, “Customers are complaining about the price seriously. Instead of buying as much as they buy before, they end up buying very little, saying they don’t have enough money. Most of them just walk away when I tell them the new price and it’s not my fault, I can’t sell less than the price I bought the goods for.”