By Mimi Chiadikaobi
Ms Ifeoma Atuanya , a tomato dealer, in Anambra capital city market, Eke-Awka, has called on government at all levels to intervene in hike of prices of staple foods like tomatoes, pepper and crayfish.
She said that cost of a basket of tomato currently sales between N280,000 to N300,000 after adding up all expenses of bringing it down to East because of the produce officers who collects money from pole to pole from drivers and hike in pump price of petrol.
Atuanya told Correspondent who conducted a market survey on causes of hike in tomatoes, pepper amongst others said that a painter sale N15000 in Awka on Friday.
She said that government can help through change of directives on high charge collected by different producer officers put on the high road by government to be collecting from drivers conveying the items.
She said that conveying the items from the north side of the country down to the east is too much due to heavy collection of charge from these producer officers and other related matters which led to terrible hike in these basic items.
Atuanya said that the price has sky rocketed beyond word that in her over twenty years of doing the business history have not recorded this height and is very painful.
She said in recent months the items were sold between N150,000 to N170,000 depending on the seeds, pepper between N 30,000 to N50,000 then a painter can go for N6000 to N8000 and we shade N500 to N1000.
Mrs Ifeyinwa Araba ,a trader at Eke Awka Market who sells staple foods such as tomatoes and pepper said that the high cost of the items is attributed to the season of the items.
Araba also said another reason that makes the item high is operational cost incurred by the dealers while transporting the items down to the East.
She said that currently they are in raining season tomatoes which actually affects availability of many type of tomato on sale at this time.
However, she said that the seed and size of the tomato all determines the price to sell a basket ,painter or shaded ones on sale.
According to her, Jos tomatoes which is the best because it has less water inside due to the process of the production previously sold at the point of buying at N70,000 now sales between N150,000 and N180,000.
This Jos tomato now gets to dealers at N200-000 and N230 after grading from point of buying largely because it is out of season now plus the cost transportation.
Araba further explained that other type of tomatoes in season now are from Nsukka,and Ikom- called Cameroun tomatoes which previously sells between N26,000 to N38000 from sources and sales between N80,000, to N100,000.
She explained that Nsukka tomatoes previously sales between N34000 to N38,000 and gets to them between N50,000 to N6000.
“We sell a painter of tomatoes though it depends on the seed and type N14000 and half painter N7000 against N6000 and N3000 sold in recent past months ,no more N200 or N500 worth tomato for now.
“ We have to add our own money to sale to consumers to make gains and solve the problems at home,” she said.
She explained that story with pepper high cost is related with challenges faced in tomatoes case and states that a bag yellow pepper from Nsukka is between N8000,to 9000, and it sales between N10,000, N12000 and N14,000 it depends on the seed.
‘The pepper now gets to the seller between N34000 to N58000 while shombo sells at N50000 sells now at N70000 and manage to sell to gain a bit,”She said.
Also, a crayfish seller who do not wish his name to be on the print said that a bag of the item is over N70000 as the last he bought in month of May cost N45000 and attributed the high cost to less rain fall and was optimistic that by June ending it will drop reasonably.
Mrs Tochichukwu Ifejirika a resident lamented the hike in the staple food items and urged the government urgent attention to address the plights.