By Marcel Oghuvu, Marvelous Udoruisi, and Mercy Omoike
Some food traders have blamed the recent increase in the country’s petrol price on the hike in food commodities.
In separate interviews yesterday in Lagos with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the traders called on the government to subsidise food transportation to curb inflation.
They also urged the government to listen to the cries of the masses and reduce the price of petrol.
Speaking on the food hike, the South-West Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Dr Babafemi Oke, called for the government’s partnership to subsidise transporting food from the farm gate to the market.
*Farmers, traders, consumers lament, urge Tinubu to intervene urgently in crisis of survival
“There is an increase in the price of food because of the high cost of transporting our goods from the farm gate to the market. Transportation costs have affected the price of food in the market.
“It will impact food inflation, except the government can partner privately with the transport operators and cargo businesses. Suppose they can subsidise the price of transportation. In that case, it will reduce the cost of the commodities in the market.
“We urge the government to introduce cargo transport fares to reduce our cost of transportation. Suppose the Compressed Natural Gas vehicles are being provided for cargo transportation and attached to farmers in every state. In that case, the price of commodities will be reduced,” Oke said.
Also, some market women at the First Gate axis of the state said the increase in transport costs was threatening their thin profit margins.
The traders called President Bola Tinubu to take urgent action and listen to the people’s cries.
A cloth seller, Mrs Flores Ajani, said going to the market to buy goods had become problematic.
“The President should reduce the price of petrol so that we can afford transport,” he said,
Another trader, Mrs Mary Ibe, shared how the rising costs of goods, especially vegetables and oils, had impacted her business.
“Vegetables I bought today have no gain. Groundnut oil is now N1,900 per bottle; red oil costs N1,100 or N1,150. If petrol prices decrease, everything else will follow because things are costly.
“Even traders who bring goods from the east are forced to increase prices due to the high cost of petrol,” she said.
Another vegetable trader, Mama Chisom, lamented that the fuel price hike had drastically affected the cost of her produce.
“Ugu is now N1,200, up from N500. Waterleaf is N3,500 for the large bunch and N2,000 for the small.
“The machines we use to water plant run on fuel, and transportation costs add to the burden,” Ibe said.
A civil servant, Mrs Amaka Okwuosa, expressed frustration at the rising cost of things in the market.
“I used to buy a bucket of tomatoes for N1,500, but now, it is almost N4,000. It is becoming difficult to feed my family,” Okwuosa said.
Also, some market women at the Alaba Suru axis of the state proffered solutions to the ongoing fuel price affecting them.
The vice chairperson of the market, Mrs Olaide Moshood, popularly known as “Iya Oja,” told NAN that the cost of food commodities was high, and everyone was affected by it.
“Everything we buy now is expensive because of the hike in the fuel price. Sometimes, I do not get the money from what I sell because I do not want to chase customers away. So, this will result in a shortage of my capital when I go to the market again,” Moshood said.
She called for the government’s intervention so traders could profit after selling their produce.
For his part, Mr Usman Amusu, a trader at Alaba Suru who sells potatoes, dried peppers, and onions, lamented that the prices of perishable foods had increased.
Amusu said the price of a bag of dried pepper had grown by 20 per cent to N50,000.
“The fuel price has increased some of the goods in the market by 20 per cent, specifically a bag of dried pepper sold for nothing less than N50,000. Furthermore, the only way the government can help us is to reduce the price of fuel for easy transportation,” Amusu said.
A cosmetics trader, popularly known as Iya Adam, said the fuel hike has been a significant problem because they cannot survive without transporting goods.
“I did not expect the fuel price to increase overnight. My market cannot sell without transporting goods, and fuel is needed.”
“For a win-win solution, the government can remove the fuel subsidy that was implemented. When you buy goods today, you can never get those goods for the same price because the price changes. I pray God touches our government so they can do something about it,” Iya Adam said.
Mrs Onyeka Kosisochukwu, who sells condiments, told NAN that the fuel hike had drastically affected the price of her goods.
“I am so much affected by the increase in fuel, and it’s very bad. Going to the market to get my goods to my shop requires transportation.
“This also makes the market very dull because the prices of things kept on scaring my customers away. The government should do something about it to help us avoid this alarming price of food by reducing the cost of fuel.
“Even down to the power supply, there should be constant power supply. It’s difficult to feed when we combine all these things,” she said.
