Bumper harvest of perishable food items occasioned by increased farming activities in Maiduguri has forced a crash in prices of the commodities by about 200 percent, a check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has revealed.
Traders who spoke to NAN Correspondent at the popular Gamboru market on Friday, said gradual drop in price started three months ago.
A NAN survey indicated that an average basket of tomatoes sells for between N1, 000 and N1, 500, as against its previous price of N3, 500.
Price of onions indicated similar drop in prices as a large size bag costs N5, 000 as against its price of N15, 000 early March.
Similarly, bag of pepper now costs N7, 000 as against N20, 000; while an average size water melon now costs between N20, and N40, depending on its size, as against its previous price of between N40 and N100.
Traders at the market attributed the drop to the improvement in supply of the produce to the market, occasioned by bumper harvest.
Auwalu Sura, a tomatoes dealer, said that prices of the produce crashed due to increased supply of the commodities to the market.
Sura said lack of preservation facility forced both farmers and traders to sell their produce at give-away price to avoid losses.
“The market is flooded with perishable produce; prices will further go down in the coming days.
“We need modern preservation facilities to enhance processing and add value to the produce,” he added.
Another dealer, Ibrahim Baban-Mutum, however, expressed joy over the high patronage of the produce.
Baban-Mutum said he was making good savings from the trade in spite of the drop in prices.
(NAN)
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