Prices of onions, tomatoes soar in Enugu

Prices of tomatoes and onions have significantly increased in major markets of Enugu metropolis, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A market survey conducted by NAN on Wednesday revealed that prices of both commodities have increased compared to months ago.

An onion seller at New Garki Market, Ibekaku Orji, lamented that the significant increase in the price of onions was associated with factors other than seasonal changes.

Mr Orji listed the factors as bad roads, increased transportation fare from the northern part of the country, and insecurity in the country.

According to him, a big bag of onions now sells for between N272,000 and N280,000, compared to N170,000 and N185,000 sold in September.

Mr Orji said a small bag of onions costs between N137,000 and N140,000, while a paint bucket costs between N10,000 and N11,000, compared to N5,000 and N6,000 sold in previous months.

Another onion seller at the New market, Aria, Maxwell Agu, said he stopped trading the commodity because his customers were seriously lamenting the price increase.

“With the increase in the price of onions, I decided to stop buying and selling the commodity to my customers for now,” he said.

NAN reports that a big basket of tomatoes sells for between N60,000 and N68,000, compared to N45,000 and N50,000 sold in August and September depending on the species.

The price of a small basket of tomatoes now costs between N40,000 and N45,500, also depending on the species.

A paint bucket of tomatoes costs between N7,000 and N8,000, compared to N5,000 and N5,500 sold previously.

A tomato seller at the new Akwata Market, Garki, Enugu, Ekwutosi Iyi, attributed the increase in the price of tomatoes to insufficient supply from the Northern part of the country.

‎“The UTC specie that comes from Jos, which was supposed to have its price reduced starting in October, is still scarce and expensive,” Ms Iyi explained.

According to her, the UTC species should be available this October because it is their harvest period while the other species from Benue should be even cheaper than Benue products.

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‎Elizabeth Onu, another tomato trader at the Ogbete Market, said the prices might not reduce if the insufficiency in supply of the commodity continued, even as its season of abundance was gradually getting nearer.

‎According to Chinasa Ugwunze, a buyer at the Mayor Market, the price of tomatoes tends to reduce towards year end, but that the reverse is the case this year.

‎Mr Ugwunze expressed surprise that the price was still high even though the harvest period had begun.

‎He urged the government to build storage facilities for preservation of perishable items in the country as that would ensure price stability and availability at all times.