ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Despite the recent drop in prices of some staple food items, many residents of Lagos say low incomes and weak purchasing power continue to make feeding difficult for households across the state.
The residents, who spoke in separate interviews on Sunday, noted that although the prices of staples such as garri, rice and beans had stabilised or reduced slightly, many Nigerians still lacked the financial capacity to afford them.
A medical practitioner and resident of Surulere, Dr Dorka Ike, said the major challenge facing many households was not necessarily the cost of food items but the declining purchasing power of consumers.
“We cannot categorically say food items are exorbitant currently except for a few produce that are out of stock.
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“Even the price of garri and some other food items has dropped. We used to buy a paint bucket of garri at N2,000 or N3,000 but now the same quantity is sold at N1,200 to N1,500.
“The problem is that most Nigerians have low purchasing power to procure these food items.
“Some Nigerians have cut down on food expenses due to low purchasing power. The cost of transportation is tearing deep into their pockets,” Ike said.
A resident of the Dopemu area, Mrs Eugenia Uloma, also said many families were struggling because wages and salaries had not improved despite changes in food prices.
“Food items like beef, chicken, fish and even tomatoes and pepper are actually on the high side.
“We really can’t tell what is going on but we make do of what we have to buy the proteins we can afford.
“Even eggs have been on a consistent high since last year and currently, we cannot get a good crate of eggs for less than N6,000.
“However, prices of other staples like rice, beans, corn and garri have been considerably fair and stable since the beginning of the year.
“A bag of rice is still between N50,000 to N55,000. Even the price of beans has been stable despite being out of stock.
“It’s just that people don’t have readily available resources to buy these items, the cost of living is increasing but salaries are not increasing,” she said.
Also speaking, a Gbagada resident, Mrs Cordelia Esho, lamented the rising cost of tomatoes and pepper, saying the increase was putting additional strain on household budgets.
“I was surprised when the price of garri dropped to N1,500 for a paint bucket, earlier this year I bought the same quantity of N3,000.
“But the price of tomatoes has tripled its price. I don’t think I will stick enough for the month due to the price increment.
“I bought a small quantity of tomatoes not up to 12 pieces for N2,500, the same quantity I bought for N500 just a few weeks ago.
“We will manage what we can afford,” Esho said.
Similarly, another resident, Mrs Lilian Agunbiade, said many Nigerians were still unable to afford adequate meals despite slight reductions in prices of some food items.
“Yes, the prices of some major food items have dropped but not enough for the masses to still afford.
“The drop is in comparison with past months, it is not like we experienced years ago when food prices were considerably fair for everyone to afford.
“Some people can barely eat two square meals in a day, talk more than three. We are all hoping things get better for Nigerians,” Agunbiade said.
(NAN)