Ramadan: Nigerians Groan, Following Price Hike In Commodities

Reports have it that prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities, such as fruits, vegetables, melon and beverages that are in high demand during the Ramadan fast had soared.

Traders attributed some of the reasons for the hike in price to the Ramadan fast, heavy rain in the North, high cost of transportation, amongst others.

In some major markets in Lagos, our checks revealed that the prices of rice, beans, fruits, and beverages have gone up with about 15 per cent.

Yusuf Fatimah said, “Market men and women are used to increasing the prices of food stuffs during this period and this is not supposed to be, although we all know the current economic recession but things should be done rightly.”

Also, Oluwafikemi Falana said, “This is my first time of coming to the market since Ramadan started but so far the product has increased a bit”.

For Peace Samuel, “Tomatoes has increased by 50 per cent. Before now, we used to buy it N50 per layer but the price has changed to N100 at the moment,” she bemoaned.

However those who deal in buying and reselling of pepper and tomatoes said a basket of tomatoes which was formerly N10,000 before Ramadan is now being sold for N21,000.

Mrs. Adeyemo Abake said, “In fact, I regretted coming to the market today because the price is frustrating. How can the same basket of tomatoes be N 21,000, instead of 10,000 we used to buy it before Ramadan.”