The prices of most foodstuffs have significantly increased in major markets within Enugu metropolis this Easter, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
A market survey conducted by a NAN correspondent on Saturday in Enugu markets revealed that prices of food items had increased when compared to about a month ago.
Some foodstuff sellers attributed the price increase to Easter celebration and off-season period of some of the edible commodities.
The price of a big basket of tomatoes now sells for between N29,000 and N35,000 as against N22,000 and N25,000 in February.
The price of a bag of Nsukka pepper now goes for N20,000 as against N16,000 in February.
A tomato seller at the New Akwata Market, Garki in Enugu, Mrs Edith Nwafor, attributed the increase in the price of a basket of tomatoes to the Easter celebration.
Nwafor said that the insufficient supply of the commodity could be due to Ramadan Fast by the suppliers from the North as only few quantities of the item were supplied, thereby causing the prices of tomatoes and pepper to increase.
Mrs Juliet Oche, another tomato trader at Garki market, said that the prices might not reduce if there is insufficiency in supply of the commodity, adding that tomato off-season is gradually approaching as well.
Miss Ifeoma Samson, a customer at Mayor Market, Enugu, said that the price of tomatoes tend to increase from the month of April.
Samson expressed surprise that the price was very high even though it was just the beginning of April.
She urged the government to build storage facilities for preservation of perishable items in the country as that would ensure price stability and commodities availability at all times.
However, an onion seller at New Garki Market, Alhaji Liman Sabo, said that the significant reduction in the price of onions was as a result of its abundance and now is the onion’s seasonal period of harvest.
According to Sabo, a bag of onions is now between N15,000 and N25,000 as against N48,000 and N50,000 in February.
Another onion seller at New market, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that due to its season and its abundance in the market she had been having a lot of waste from her unsold spoiled onions.
A carrot seller at Ogbete Market, Enugu, Miss Felicia Egwu, said that a bag of carrots now sells for N35,000 as against N20,000 in February.
Egwu also attributed the price hike to the Easter celebration, adding that the suppliers of the items are also observing their Ramadan fast at the same time, thereby making the prices to soar.
