Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have revealed they can no longer provide for their families due to the increasing cost of foodstuff.
The residents spoke in different interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently in Abuja and said consuming beans and yam has become a luxury because of its high cost.
This, according to them, had affected their domestic food timetable, making it impossible to eat varieties.
According to Mrs Glory Ocholi, a mother, beans have become so expensive that it is not easy to buy in bulk as she usually does to help in her nutrition plan.
She said: “Before now, I used to buy 10 mudus of white beans for between N9, 000 to N10, 000, at N900 to N950 each.
“While the red one was usually slightly above N100 or N200.
“Currently, white beans cost N2,800 while red beans are sold for N3,000 to N3,500 , yam, Irish and sweet potatoes are also very expensive, it is only the rich that can afford them.
“You cannot buy corn or sorghum, vegetables are a no-go area, so at the end of the day, our children are forced to eat whatever we can provide.’’
She said buying foodstuff at a higher cost had made her take off meals like ‘akara’ and pap which her family used to eat every Saturday morning.
She begged both the government and Nigerian Food Products Suppliers and Manufacturers to find ways to tackle the situation.
Another respondent, Mr Habila Makama, said that his household could not longer eat certain foods due to the high prices
He said: “I used to compliment yam with sweet or Irish potatoes when yam is not in season but now, I cannot afford any of them.
“Sweet potatoes that used to be the cheapest are also expensive. Rice is the only available food now in spite of the cost.
“We eat it every day of the week and probably exchange it with any available swallow with the soup you can afford.”
A correspondent of NAN who visited the Dutse-Alhaji market reported that five big tubers of yam now go sell for a negotiable price between N12, 000 to N14, 000.
At Karu market, corn and millet which previously sold for N850 and N900, now sell for N1, 300 per mudu.
Also, NAN reported that a bag of corn which previously sold for N40, 000 and millet for N65, 000, are now being sold for N90, 000 per bag.
Mallam Bashiru Ahmed, a trader in Karu market, said prices of goods fluctuate daily and could increase by a minimum of 20 percent within a week.
He stated further that traders sometimes go to the market to buy a bag of beans for N160, 000, but they end up buying it between N180, 000 or N200, 000 because of price fluctuation.
He attributed the rising cost to transportation of the goods from the northern states to the distribution units, where traders go to buy from.
He said: “The cost of transportation has contributed to the increase in cost of these foods and it has really affected our business.
“We had to increase the price of grains to meet up with the expenses in logistics, and this is making our customers complain, thereby affecting patronage.’’
He urged the government to introduce measures that could salvage the cost of transportation and control market price for grains.
This according to him would stop distributors and sellers from triggering unnecessary price increase.