Times are really hard and Nigerians are suffering. Perhaps, the prediction of a Second Republic minister that the poor Nigerian masses would soon eat from the dustbin is gradually becoming a reality.
This may be true in view of the cry of both consumers and retailers of tomatoes as price of the product is gradually but steadily creeping out of the reach of the ordinary Nigerian.
A survey carried out during the week shows that the prices of tomatoes have increased drastically in most markets in Lagos State.
In the last three months, tomatoes and pepper were in abundance, prompting a basket of tomatoes to drop to N6,000 from N18,000.
But, not anymore! In Mile 12, one of the biggest and most popular markets in the metropolis, a big basket of tomatoes now goes for between N35,000 and N40,000 as against N6,000 and N8,000 the product sold a few months back.
Also, a small basket which sold for about N3,000 three months back now goes for between N18,000 and N23,000.
For the unripe and damaged ones, big basket sales for N28, 000 while a small plate containing about 20 pieces of the product goes for N2,500. 15 to 18 pieces, depending on the sizes, of a small plate goes for N1,000 while 10 small pieces sell for N500.
Saheed Muazu and Kabiru Salaha are major sellers in the Oja Oba Market, Ile-Epo in Abule-Egba area of Lagos State.
According to them, the product price has been on a steady rise since late last month.
The smaller basket as at last year in the market, they said, was sold for between N1,500 and N2,000 while the current market price of the same quantity is now sold as high as N12,000.
The bigger basket, which ranges between N2,500 and N3,000 about the same time, now goes for between N25,000 to N35,000 depending on the freshness of the commodity.
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Also in the popular Abibat Mogaji Sunday Market in Ogba, Ikeja, a big basket which sold for N18,000 a few weeks back now goes for between N35,000 and N40,000 while the small basket that sold for between N8,000 and N9,000 is now between N15,000 and N17,000.
In the same market, 25 small pieces of the commodity could be bought for N1,000, while 12 small pieces and four small pieces now goes for between N500 and N200 respectively. Four big pieces is N400 in the market.
Victoria Igondo, who has been in the business of tomatoes selling for long now, told our reporter that the commodity increase in Abule Market, Ajao Estate, is something average people can no longer afford.
According to her, a basket before now sold for between N2,500 and N3,500 depending on the quantity that is available in the market.
“But now it so expensive; like today we bought a basket at N32,000 for small sized tomatoes and the big size ones for N35,000,” Igondo said, adding, “it is very expensive and that is why we are shading it very little. In fact, we don’t just shade it as we do before now, we now count to sell.”
Meanwhile, Femi Odusanya, the spokesman for Mile 12 market traders, attributed the increase to the off-season and the lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
“Traders go through a lot of stress in transporting goods to the market. They will definitely add the cost differential to their goods,” Odusanya said. While Elizabeth Nwaka, a dealer of the commodity in Ogba Sunday Market, said: “We hear that they divert trailers now to Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s tomatoes’ factory somewhere in the middle belt instead of coming to Lagos as has been the practice.”
And some have also attributed the situation to traders who now imports the product from the neighbouring Cameroon, which invariably makes the commodity costlier.
https://www.today.ng/news/national/118141/lagosians-groan-prices-tomatoes-skyrocket

Inflation has really hit the consumer goods market, the government should do something about it.