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, reveals that prices of both commodities have increased when compared to months back.
An onion seller, at New Garki Market, Ibekaku Orji, lamented that the significant increase in the price of onions was associated with other factors apart from seasonal changes.
Orji listed the factors to include bad roads, increase in transportation fare from the northern part of the country, as well as the insecurity in the country.
According to him, a big bag of onions is now sold at between N272,000 and N280,000 as against N170,000 and N185,000 sold in September.
Orji said that a small bag of onions cost between N137,000 and N140,000 while paint bucket cost between N10,000 and N11,000 as against N5,000 and N6,000 sold in previous months.
Another onion seller at the New market, Aria, Maxwell Agu, said he had suspended trading in the commodity because his customers were seriously lamenting over 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 as against 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 cost between N7,000 and N8,000 as against 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 of the commodity from the Northern part of the country.
“The UTC specie that comes from Jos, which is supposed to have reduced in price from October is still scarce and expensive,” Iyi explained.
According to her, as at this October, the UTC species was supposed to be available because this is their harvest period while the other specie from Benue should also be even cheaper than Benue products.
Mrs 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 ember months but reverse is the case.
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.