The recent increase in the price of tomatoes across various cities in Nigeria has attracted concerns and lamentations from both sellers and consumers of the product.
A basket of fresh tomatoes, which sold for between ₦50,000 and ₦80,000 in April, now sells for between N140,000 and N150,000 sparkling concerns.
The concerns are again heightened by the fast-approaching Eid El-Kabir celebrations by the Muslims.
Traders who spoke on the sharp increase in the price of tomatoes explained that the spike is due to regular seasonal fluctuations in the quantity of tomatoes produced. They noted that the harvest period for the current species of tomatoes being sold is almost over with the coming of the wet season across the country.
A trader at the popular Mile 12 market in Lagos State, Umar Tanko, confirmed the over 100% increase in the price of fresh tomatoes between April and May. He added in a chat with Nairametrics that lower-quality tomatoes, damaged during the journey from the North to the South, currently sell for around ₦60,000 to ₦100,000, depending on the severity of the damage but the same quality sold for ₦30,000 last month.
According to Umar, “This custard bucket of pepper sold for ₦3,000 or ₦4,000 last month, now it sells for ₦8,000.”
Another trader, identified as Shefiu, who sells at the Flour Food Market in Ikorodu, Lagos, said there is a reduction in the quantity of tomatoes being supplied because of the rainy season which signals the end of the current variety being consumed.
He suggested that the importation of tomatoes from Cameroon and Ghana could help bridge the current gap.
“We sold the custard bucket of tomatoes last month for ₦4,000 and ₦5,000. But now, I sell it for ₦10,000. Mine is cheap because I have someone supplying me directly from Kano. I don’t buy from Mile 12,” Shefiu said.
Checks in other Nigerian states including Kwara, Edo, Abuja and Delta, suggest a similar pattern in the increase of the price of tomatoes.
Also, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report in its Food Price Watch for April, the price of 1kg of tomatoes has risen year-on-year by 131.58% between April 2023 and April 2024. However, between March and April 2024, the average price of 1kg of tomatoes increased by 17.06%.
