Prices Of Food Stuff Rise In Warri

Prices of stable food stuff have increased in Warri, Delta commercial city, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A survey conducted by NAN on Sunday in the popular Igbudu Market revealed that price increase affected rice, beans, yam, garri onions and groundnut oil.



Alhaji Kasimu Haruna, the Chairman of Onion Unit in Igbudu Market, said the price for a bag of onion had risen from N8, 000 it was sold in April to N9, 000.

He attributed the increase to the high cost of transporting the commodity from the northern part of the country to the city.

He said that the increase in cost of transportation was as a result of fuel scarcity in the country in addition to the scarcity of the commodity.

He said: “the cost of a bag of onions together with the cost of transporting it from Sokoto to Warri is now about N7, 000.

“There are no fresh onions now; the ones we are selling are from the storage we made last year and the lower the supplies the higher the prices.

“So between now and the harvest season, the price will continue to be on the increase.

He appealed to the Federal Government to solve the problem of fuel scarcity to reduce the cost of transporting food stuff from the northern part of the country.

The chairman also appealed to Delta and Edo Governments to reduce the amount that traders paid as levies for the conveyance of their goods to Warri.

“In Edo and Delta, we pay N5, 000 on each vehicle that carries our goods. In order words, in the two states we pay N10, 000 on each vehicle,’’ he added.

A rice dealer, Mrs Aghogho Abalu, said that the prices of a 50 kilogramme bag of Mama Gold, Mama Africa and Ade Rice brands of rice, had increased to N10, 000, N8, 500 and N8, 200 respectively.

She said that in April, the prices for a 50 kilogramme bag of the brands were N9, 500, N8, 200 and N7, 800 respectively.

Mrs Esther Azubuike, a beans seller, said that a big bag of white beans formerly sold for N12, 000 is now N13, 000.

Azubike said the selling price of the commodity increased because the suppliers increased the cost price and blamed it on cost of transportation.

The survey revealed that a standard measure of garri now sells for N350 as against N300 it sold in April while the price of three litres of Turkey rose from N1, 000 to N1, 100.


Mr Musa Idris, a seller told NAN that the prices of baskets of tomatoes ranged between N2, 500 and N5, 300 depending on the sizes.

According to him, the prices were determined by the availability of the product.


“The price of tomatoes depends on the availability of the product. The price can rise today and by tomorrow it falls, so it fluctuates,’’ he said.(NAN)