Traders: Why food items still expensive in markets

Some traders have attributed the hike in prices of food items to fuel prices and insecurity in the country.

The traders said the prices of their goods tripled from their suppliers hence the reason for the hike of prices on consumers

The traders disclosed this to journalists during surveillance by the officials of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Masaka Village Market in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Friday, April 19, 2024.

Speaking, the General Chairman of Masaka Market, Danlami Gimba, said transportation was the major cause of the hike in food prices.

Gimba appealed to the government to reduce the price of petrol to help reduce transportation costs which, he said, would help reduce the prices of food items.

A yam dealer at the market, Naomi Zakari, disclosed that one trip of yam containing 100 tubers that was sold to them in Benue State for N15,000 is now being sold for N50,000.

She said the suppliers attributed the hike in the price to the high cost of pesticides, fertilisers, and transportation.

FCCPC begins engagements in markets to crash food prices

Zakaria, however, appealed to the Federal Government to reduce the price of fuel.

Also speaking with newsmen, the Director of Surveillance and Investigations of the FCCPC, Boladale Adeyinka, said the commission has commenced fact-finding engagements with traders and marketers to determine factors responsible for the continuous hike in food prices.

Adeyinka said the mission was geared toward crashing the prices of food in the country.

She noted that the findings in the market showed that transportation cost from the farm to the market and multiple taxation were major reasons for the high cost of food in the markets.

She listed other factors contributing to the hike to include high cost of pesticides and insecurity.

Adeyinka said the FCCPC would develop a concise report of all the multiple taxes and advise the government on how to unlock, remove, or reduce the taxes.

The Star