₦airaland Forum

Many residents and food vendors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed concern over the continued rise in the cost of vegetables and other food items.

They said that the situation was affecting both businesses and household feeding.

The respondents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said they were adopting different strategies to remain in business amid rising costs.


Mrs Mary Augustine, owner of a local restaurant in the FCT, said the prices of tomatoes, pepper, and leafy vegetables had increased significantly in recent months.

“Previously, a big basket of tomatoes was being sold for between N45,000 and N48,000, but it is presently being sold for between N85,000 and N90,000.

“A 50kg bag of pepper which used to cost between N20,000 and N30,000 now sells for between N120,000 and N150,000,” she said.

She said the increase in the prices had made many food vendors to either increase the prices of the meals or reduce the portion.

“We use vegetables every day for cooking soups, stew and salads, but the prices keep increasing almost every week.

“Sometimes, we spend more than twice the amount we used to spend in the market, and customers still expect food prices and quantity served to remain the same.

“To cope with this situation, I now buy vegetables in bulk directly from farmers and preserve them to limit frequent market visits,” Augustine said.

Another food vendor, Mrs Fatima Muhammad, saidthe rising cost of cooking ingredients, especially tomatoes, tatashe, shombo and pepper, had greatly affected her business, forcing her to adjust the way she prepared meals.

According to her, she no longer uses tomatoes regularly because of the high price.

“Whenever I prepare food, I usually combine tomatoes, tatashe, shombo and pepper, but the continuous increase in prices have made me change my cooking pattern.

“I now buy smaller quantities of tatashe and rely more on shombo, although it is also expensive, also pepper have become even more costly and difficult to afford in large quantities.

“Onions is the cheapest vegetables now, but while it is important for improving the taste of food, it can cause food spoilage when used excessively without proper preservation, especially due to poor electricity supply,” Muhammad said.

She said many food vendors now depend on packaged cooking pastes and sachet pepper mixes as cheaper alternatives to fresh ingredients because of the high market prices.

According to her, using small amounts of natural ingredients when available still helps to produce good cooking results.

Muhammad advised business owners to be careful in managing prices in order to maintain customer loyalty and protect their brand reputation.

“Constant price increases or reducing food quantity can drive customers away. Business owners need to adopt different strategies to cope with the current situation while maintaining customer loyalty,” she said.

A caterer, Mrs Lateefat Yusuf, said the rising cost of tomatoes, pepper and tatashe had forced her to adjust her operations in order to remain in business and satisfy customers.

“I have resorted to using alternatives such as sachet tomato paste due to the continuous increase in the prices of cooking ingredients.

“The amount of money I usually spend in the market can no longer buy half of what it used to purchase.

“Sometimes, I have to go to the market with double or even triple the amount because of the high prices of the veggies which are even difficult to find these days.

“The only ingredient that have not increased significantly in price is onion, but it cannot be used alone for cooking.

“In spite the challenges, we still try our best to ensure that customers are satisfied whenever they give us catering jobs,” she said.

Mr Isah Sagir, an eatery operator, said high transportation costs and post-harvest losses were contributing to the high prices of vegetables.

He said many small business owners were struggling to balance quality service with affordability.

“If we increase food prices too much, customers will stop coming. But if we keep prices low, we may not make any profit.

“So, we now use our ingredients carefully and try to avoid waste in the kitchen,” Sagir said.

Some residents, however, expressed concern over the increasing cost of food sold at eateries, saying it was affecting their feeding habits.

A housewife, Maman Zainab, said the rising cost of cooking ingredients was seriously affecting her, especially during the festive season.

“Now, we are forced to either use dried vegetables or cooking paste because fresh vegetables have become too expensive,” she said.

A civil servant, Mr Benjamin Amos, said he now spends more on meals outside his home because food vendors had increased prices.

He urged government authorities to support farmers with incentives and improve transportation systems to help reduce the cost of food items.

A vegetable farmer, Dr Abdulwahab Ishaq, said that the rising cost of vegetables was caused by economic challenges, insecurity in farming areas, high transportation costs and weather-related challenges.

He called for better support for farmers, improved storage facilities and measures to reduce waste after harvest across the country. (NAN)

Source: https://dailytrust.com/feeding-becoming-difficult-fct-residents

It is already difficult.

See Rent like skyscraper

adenigga:
Source: https://dailytrust.com/feeding-becoming-difficult-fct-residents

APC is fixing the economy 😂😂😂😂😂😂

All is well with our dearest country.

Una dey capital dey cry ppl way no dey wit president go de mad now

Too badddddddddd i swearhjkkkrbjiknegehh

Jokes apart... Na when you enter market you go see the cost of some basic item that dont need to be difficult to purchase.

How can a bottle of oil be as high as 2k.

Egg 250 per one... as how na.

Person go buy meat 10k, he wont even notice the meat in his food. Before meat 1k dey show wella.

Chicken standard size is 15k. Something that used to be 1500.

May God help us.

Lets not even talk about rent... My parent house, landlord increased from 250k to 700k. We pleaded, no way. Some people had to pack out cos they cant afford.

Next year election will tell us if it's true or not

Food is also expensive in the US and UK. No manner of propaganda by the opposition and Obidients will stop Asiwaju Jagaban from re-election in 2027.

Shebi I do the data boys work well?

Vote Tinubu and his Crownies out. They have nothing to offer!!!

Thunder fire Jagaban and his family

It is better for Tinubu supporters to be Kidnapped and kill than for them to vote another person who will make Nigeria better.

This is their personal decision and it is favouring them and their families.



🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Make una go niger state na

Must everybody stay in Abuja?

President talk say na hard time, say make we all manage

Why e no even they pain me be say Tinubu win primaries by landslide, like the landslide reach from Borokiri reach London, so who are we to say otherwise

Person go come dey wait till 1pm or 2pm b4 eating bread and beans, so it can sustain person till night

When I served in Abuja in 2010, things were already expensive especially within the metropolis except those living at the outskirts such as Zuba. I wonder how the people living there will be coping.

No be wike b fct minister

Rich4god:
Jokes apart... Na when you enter market you go see the cost of some basic item that dont need to be difficult to purchase.

How can a bottle of oil be as high as 2k.

Egg 250 per one... as how na.

Person go buy meat 10k, he wont even notice the meat in his food. Before meat 1k dey show wella.

Chicken standard size is 15k. Something that used to be 1500.

May God help us.

Lets not even talk about rent... My parent house, landlord increased from 250k to 700k. We pleaded, no way. Some people had to pack out cos they cant afford.

That means a crate of eggs (the most basic protein source) is now about 10% of the nation's minimum wage.

In Canada, the same crate of eggs is only about 0.8% of the nation's monthly minimum wage.

Now begin to imagine when you combine prices of other protein sources and basic food items... That means over 70% of Nigerians are either poorly-nourished, or just outrightly malnourished.

Kwarshiokor is running rampage quietly across the nation.

Tomorrow, some overprivileged suppprters of APC will say living in Nigeria is far cheaper than anywhere else on Earth.

Beeeeeht Wike is building roads without gutter and estates for judges na.

If you like go and vote tinubu again. And the thing now is that nigerians should come out enmasse not only to vote out tinubu but also to defend their vote and confront & dismantle any demonic politicians that want to mess with their votes during Voting, Collation & Announcement of results at levels...

A hungry man is a aggressive man.
Time to chase Aso Villa Bandit and Emperor Wicked Wike

Nteogwuija:
Food is also expensive in the US and UK. No manner of propaganda by the opposition and Obidients will stop Asiwaju Jagaban from re-election in 2027.

Shebi I do the data boys work well?

Can you compare USA and Britain to Nigeria? Have human empathy, don't display wickedness in every aspect of your life.

Well fct didn't vote for the strange man ruling from their state.

It's unfortunate that most Northern States and some South West were blinded by the song. Cumbaya.

adenigga:
Source: https://dailytrust.com/feeding-becoming-difficult-fct-residents

APC supporters say Tinubu is doing reforms🤣🤣
Invisible reforms

edogu:
When I served in Abuja in 2010, things were already expensive especially within the metropolis except those living at the outskirts such as Zuba. I wonder how the people living there will be coping.

The idea or concept of a metropolis or capital center being quite expensive in terms of living costs means average monthly incomes are relatively high, or at least far higher than areas beyond them.

Which is why it defeats logic that there can be states where cost of living is at least 6 times above the average earning capacity of most residents.

Where is the balance?!!

That's how you lay the ground for active participation in crimes among members of the teeming lower class.

westside365:
Can you compare USA and Britain to Nigeria? Have human empathy, don't display wickedness in every aspect of your life.

Guy, na data boys work I say make I just do oh.

Na sarcasm oh!

Price of food dey high, but na una dey shout jagaban up and down, him turn Lagos to London he go turn Nigeria to Japan, God will present another opportunity to una 2027, if una like vote for the coco sniffer again,

I am an FCT resident and I am not hungry
How many did they interview?
Nobody came to me?

Basic123:
I am an FCT resident and I am not hungry
How many did they interview?
Nobody came to me?

Ahh how old are you? When they are talking, they are talking about majority not minority mr showman.

Tinubu supporters don't live here in Nigeria

Angelfrost:
That means a crate of eggs (the most basic protein source) is now about 10% of the nation's minimum wage.

In Canada, the same crate of eggs is only about 0.8% of the nation's monthly minimum wage.

Now begin to imagine when you combine prices of other protein sources and basic food items... That means over 70% of Nigerians are either poorly-nourished, or just outrightly malnourished.

Kwarshiokor is running rampage quietly across the nation.

Tomorrow, some overprivileged suppprters of APC will say living in Nigeria is far cheaper than anywhere else on Earth.

Before now, you can just enter market then you decide to buy egg, the cost was negligible. But then, you need to budget for egg as part of money been takien to market.

To live a comfortable life now in Nigeria. Lets say a family of 5 with a car, living in an average area and saving money for the future, you need to be earning like 800k-1.2m monthly to be able to meet up with expenses. This is something that 150k can do before.

Baba you run am well! Lol very steupeed set of creatures

Nteogwuija:
Food is also expensive in the US and UK. No manner of propaganda by the opposition and Obidients will stop Asiwaju Jagaban from re-election in 2027.

Shebi I do the data boys work well?