Disease, season drive up food prices again

Amid shrinking incomes of Nigerian households, food prices have maintained an upward trajectory in the last one month, as issues such as seasons and diseases bear on the commodities.

The price of fresh tomatoes has gone up by 27 percent in the last ten days, in most markets in Lagos metropolis, BusinessDay findings show.

Checks around Mile 12, Oshodi and Boundary markets in Lagos on Thursday revealed that a big basket of fresh tomatoes, which sold for between N14, 000 and N15, 000 in late April 2017, now goes for between N18, 000 and N20, 000.

As at Thursday (yesterday), a 50kg bag of rice went for between N16, 000 and N18, 000, as against N14, 000 to N15, 000 on Tuesday. Similarly, a 50kg bag of onions increased to N24, 000- N26, 000, from N17, 000 in April. A 50kg bag of ‘Rodo’, a brand of pepper, now sells for N18, 000, from N15, 000 within the same period.

Moreso, a 25-litre gallon of vegetable oil has risen from N13, 500 to N14, 000, while that of palm oil dropped to N12, 500, from N13, 000 within the same period.

A carton of frozen chickens witnessed a slight decline in price from N12, 000 to between N10, 000 and N10, 500, while a carton of turkey, which previously sold for N14, 000, now goes for N11, 400.

Biliya Lawal Adam, secretary of  the ‘Perishable Goods’ section, Mile 12 Market, Lagos, attributed the high price of tomatoes to the ravaging disease known as Tuta Absoluta, also known as ‘Tomato Ebola’, which has destroyed a huge percentage of the crop in the north-east zone, where most tomatoes are planted.

“We get fresh pepper from three states. Sokoto State is the highest producer of pepper but they are off-season at the moment. We now rely on pepper from Kaduna state and it’s only one local government in the state that we can get pepper. Sokoto will start harvesting in November/December. The small basket of pepper from Bende that was sold for N3, 000 is now N9, 000,” Lawal said.

‘‘Sokoto state also produces onions but currently they are offseason, we get onions from Jigawa and the onions they produce are not enough,’’ said Lawal.

Tomato Ebola will likely add to the woes of processors who are battling lack of fresh tomatoes and almost 50 percent post-harvest losses, say analysts.

Dangote Tomato plant in Kano, re-opened recently, after shutting down its plant for months, on the back of lack of fresh tomatoes, thus robbing Nigeria of an opportunity to have an indigenous producer of concentrate.

“Farmers need education on how to increase their yields. As at today, farmers are doing five to six tons per hectare, but in other countries, farmers are getting 50 tons and above per hectare. Why farmers are getting few tons here is because of insufficient knowledge of application methods,” said Nnamdi Nnodebe, CEO of Sonia Foods Limited, a tomato-packaging factory.

At the peak of  the ‘Tomato Ebola’ desaease experience last year, Sule Augie, a tomato farmer, who cultivates five hectares of land in Kurmur- Kogi, Kaduna State, bemoaned the impact of climate change on tomatoes, adding that there is a widespread stunting of tomatoes, due to the excessive heat recorded.

Nigeria’s domestic demand for tomatoes is put at 2.3 million tonnes, while it produces only 1.8 million tons annually, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

Tomato Ebola has been ravaging crops in the last three years, but Nigeria lacks preparatory or early plans needed to halt the disease, Eric Umeofia, CEO of Erisco Foods Limited, told BusinessDay last year.

The Financial Derivatives Company’s commodity price analysis shows that the price of sugar has dropped from N20,000 to N18,500, just as that of 50kg of maize fell from N13,350 to N13, 250.  However, the price of 10kg of Semolina rose from N3,100 to N3,500, just as that of 50kg of 50kg of beans spiked to N22,000, from N16,000. Also, a 50kg of garri skyrocketed to N26,000 from N19,000 previously.

The FDC projects that persistent wet conditions will be favourable for grains, adding that there will be bearish trend in market.

CHINWE AGBEZE