Tomato prices fell 58 percent from January to August 2024 in a relief for several families hard hit by over 40 percent food inflation in Africa’s most populous nation.
Buzz Times surveyed markets across Lagos and found that a big basket of tomatoes currently sells for N50,000 as against an average of N120,000 in January/February 2024 at Mile 12 Market. In Onitsha, the basket costs between N60,000 and N75,000 at major markets such as Ochanja, and Ose. In Wuse and Dei Dei markets in Abuja, prices hover between N45,000 and N60,000.
A small basket of tomatoes now costs N6,500 in Lagos as against N13,000 in January.
“The new harvest has started,” Sani Danladi, national chairman of the Association of Tomato Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, said, while explaining the reason behind the price drop.
“Farmers who planted in the past months are currently harvesting, which explains why the prices of tomatoes are coming down. The rain break too is another reason,” he added.
For pepper, a small basket of Habanero pepper currently sells for an average of N13,000 as against N35,000 at the peak of the price surge in May-June, indicating a 63 percent decline over the period.
Comments
0 comment