Tough Easter: Food prices remain high despite naira gain

Easter is looking gloomy for most Nigerian families, as many cannot afford to celebrate the way they ought to, Sunday PUNCH reports.

Easter, mostly celebrated by Christians, is seen as a season of sharing and caring for families.

It involves a lot of eating, drinking and outing, but many families do not see themselves enjoying the season because of the hike in the prices of goods and services, which the weakened naira can no longer purchase.

More Nigerians have continued to lament the hike in commodity prices in the country despite the naira regaining its value.

The hike in the prices of goods and services has also been attributed to the naira to dollar exchange rate.

Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria released $10,000 to each Bureau De Change to be sold at N1,251/$1, with a view to strengthen the naira.

The apex bank directed each BDC to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, implying that each BDC was not expected to sell above N1,269/$1.

Despite these interventions by the apex bank, the prices of goods and services have remained on the high side.

A father of four in Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, Pastor Ginikachi Onuoha, told Sunday PUNCH that the Easter season was one when he cooked a lot of food and shared with the less privileged.

But this year, Onuoha said he could not even afford to comfortably feed his family or buy them new clothes for the season.

“It was yesterday (Thursday) that my wife was asking me what we are going to cook for Easter. I just laughed and told her to manage what we have. Even the kids were asking me if they wouldn’t wear new clothes; I didn’t know what to tell them.

“I had to struggle every day to feed my family. I am into fulltime ministry. My wife is just a tailor. It is just too much load for us to carry. The season is not looking like Easter at all,” he said.

A woman, Mrs Selene Togba, who sells fish at the Bonny Cool Beach in Rivers State, said the season did not look like the Easter period she was used to.

“Before now, you would see people trooping in and buying things, but the market is so empty. You will not even believe that people are celebrating. It is a gloomy holiday for us all,” she said.

Food prices in Abuja

In Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, a pack of spaghetti that sold for N850 two weeks ago now sells for N900 as of Friday.

Also, a bag of 50kg Nigerian rice sold at N65,000 two weeks ago now sells at N70,000.

A bag of sachet water is still selling at N500, and a sachet of water sells at N50.

A yam seller popularly known as Mama Goddy in Bwari Market, Abuja, said the high cost of transportation and scarcity of yam in the market had contributed to the increased cost of the produce.

She also narrated how difficult it was for her to afford a bag of local rice sold at N65,000 in February and wondered how she’d buy the same commodity now that it was selling for N70,000.

Ogun state

Speaking with one of our correspondents at Ibafo Market, Ogun State, a foodstuffs trader, who simply identified herself Mutiya, said the prices of foodstuffs had not come down.

According to her, a bag of rice sells for between N89,000 and N92,000 while a bag of drum beans still sold for N145,000 as against the former price of N40,000, which it sold last year.

Also, a carton of Spaghetti was increased from N7,000 to N15,500.

Another foodstuffs wholesaler, Emma Azubike, lamented the continued increase in foodstuffs.

He said, “Nothing has changed my brother. In fact, the prices continue to increase. The problem is that where we buy from, they have not changed too; you cannot expect us to change.”

He further explained that the price 10kg of Semovita had not changed from the N14,500 it was sold in December, adding that a carton of Golden Penny noodles still sold for N6500.

A fish seller identified as Mary also lamented that the prices of fish had continued to soar.

She stated that as of January, a kilo of horse Mackerel (kote) fish was sold for between N2,800 and N3,000 but had now increased to between N3,500 and N4000; while Herring fish (shawa) was now sold for N2800 from its former price of N2500.

Similarly, a frozen foods trader, Akingbade, disclosed that the fall in the exchange rate of dollar to naira had yet to affect the prices of frozen foods in the market.

He explained that the price of a carton of chicken which was previously N30,000, was now sold between N45,000 to N50,000, while a kilogramme of the commodity sold for N2,800 now cost N5,000.

He further explained that a kilogramme of turkey which was previously N6,600 a few weeks ago, was now N7,500, as a carton had risen to N51,000 from the previous N30,000.

Our correspondent also gathered that the price of a bag of rice remained at N90,000 in different parts of the Ibafo market.

Lagos markets

In Lagos, Mrs Chisom Odochi, a businesswoman in Olufowobi, Ikosi, who sells rice and frozen foods, believes that food prices will remain high until after Ramadan.

She noted that while the value of the naira had weakened, it had not translated to lower market prices.

“A bag of local rice, which was priced at N75,000 just two weeks ago, has now surged to N90,000.

“Similarly, the cost of ‘Shawa’ fish, previously priced at N150 or N300, has skyrocketed to N700 or N800. Chicken now sells at N4,500 per kilo, up from N4,300 which it sold last week.”

Economists proffer solutions 

Lending their voices on the situation, a renowned economic expert and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, described the situation as a “lag between when a policy action is taken and when the impact will be felt.”

He said, “What have been done are things that are being implemented within the last few weeks, especially around the foreign exchange which is very central to all these problems.

“Again, people who had items in stocks got them at a very high price, and until they begin to restock at a cheaper rate, they cannot sell what they bought at a higher price for a lower price. So there is a transition for the effect of the policies to manifest.”

Another economist at Sankore Investment Limited, Jonathan Thomas, said the prices of commodities proved difficult to change because of human behaviour and natural economic principles.

He said, “Another reason could be market distortions. Prices are determined by the equilibrium interaction of demand and supply and that is how prices in the market are determined.”