The cost of staple foods, particularly rice, is starting to go down a little in a number of markets for residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The cost of cooking necessities like oil, tomatoes, fish, and meat is still very high, despite the fact that grain prices, especially those of rice, have decreased when compared to early-year figures, according to reports from a variety of markets.
The marginal decline, according to many, is insufficient to alleviate the financial burden that the majority of households are currently experiencing.
Depending on the brand, a 50kg bag of rice at Kubwa Market can now be purchased for as little as ₦75,000, compared to January’s prices of ₦88,000 to ₦90,000.
In a similar vein, a 25kg bag that used to cost about ₦43,000 is now sold for ₦37,500 and less.
A Daily Sun report claims that prices are even more favorable in another satellite town, Nyanya Market. Once selling for between ₦90,000 and ₦93,000, a 50kg bag of rice now costs between ₦70,000 and ₦72,000, depending on the brand.
In the meantime, rice prices continue to be comparatively higher in Wuse Market and other city center locations. A 50kg bag now costs between ₦78,000 and ₦80,000, which is less than the ₦92,000 it cost in January. The 25kg bag costs between ₦39,000 and ₦40,000.
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Residents claim the cost of cooking ingredients is still too high, even with the decline in grain prices.
“It is a relief even though the reduction is not substantial. According to Jabi civil servant Oluchi Benson, “people are suffering.”
“Because of their better prices and measurements, I travel all the way to Mandala to buy food.”
Christy Okoye, a Kubwa resident, said that while grains might be less expensive, other things have turned into luxury goods.
“The real problems are fish, oil, and tomatoes.” Iced fish, which was once considered the “protein of the poor,” is now considered a luxury. Purchasing beef is less expensive than purchasing fish. According to Okoye, “you won’t find any fish below ₦1,500, and a kilogram of beef is over ₦7,000 in some areas,” the Daily Sun reported.
A vendor at Utako Market named Mama B admitted that although rice prices have decreased, families are now having difficulty finding a variety of basic foods.
Will we only eat rice? What about snacks, oil, or protein for our kids? The majority of families have forgotten items like biscuits and noodles. I can now afford to make pancakes and zobo (hibiscus drink) for my kids,” she said.
Maria Ayo of Dutse Alhaji, a mother of four, described her coping mechanism. “I stopped purchasing foodstuffs in small quantities,” she said. My family is managing better now that I’m using the contribution method. But the cost of fish, yams, meat, and eggs is still too high. The government must intervene to raise the standard of living for the typical Nigerian.
Slower Sales Are Linked by Traders to Rice Contributions
Mallam Aliyu, a trader in Wuse Market, blamed the widespread practice of rice contribution groups, in which families pool money to purchase large quantities of rice at the end of the year, for the decline in demand for the grain since the Christmas season.
“Many families are still eating from what they got during last year’s contribution,” Aliyu said. Because of this, sales have decreased.
Abuja residents assert that the high cost of cooking necessities and protein sources still makes daily survival difficult, despite the slow decline in rice prices providing some hope.
Regardless of what the statistics indicate, it was stated that the general consensus is still that most families will still find it difficult to feed themselves adequately until there is a more widespread decrease in the cost of all necessary food items.
