Some residents of the Yimi community in Zuba, Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have decried the continuous rise in the prices of food items.

A market survey conducted on Tuesday revealed that residents were worried by the steady increase in the price of foodstuffs in the past few months.

The residents said that low-income earners were mostly affected by the increase in food prices, making it hard for them to make ends meet.

A rice seller, David Henry, said that consumers are feeling the hardship of the price hike, with some only being able to eat once a day.

He said that many traders had observed that the prices of food items increase almost every hour, causing the prices of things bought in the morning to change before mid-day.

“We spend a lot of money on transportation to bring goods from various states to sell to our customers. Before now, a bag of white garri was sold for N17, 000 but now it is sold for N40,000 and N45,000. While a Mudu of white garri is sold for N1, 200 and N1,500, a Mudu of red garri goes for N1,700, as against N700 and N850 for white garri and N1,000 for red,” Mr Henry said.

A seller of food items in Zuba Market, Ada Eze, urged the government to step in and regulate the prices of food items.

Ms Eze said this was because farmers were no longer going to the farms because of the insecurity in the country.

She said a bag of local rice currently goes for N76,500, 000 and N77,000, while foreign rice goes for N105,000 as against N50,000 and N55,000, respectively.

“We currently sell a mudu of local rice for N2,350 and N2,500, while the foreign rice is sold for N3,500 and N3,800, as against N1,200 and N1,500 in January,” she said.

“Most areas are not safe again; that is why the prices of food keep increasing every day. The cost of living is going up and people cannot afford the basic things they need to live, like food. The price of food is affecting businesses like rice, beans and meat because people find it difficult to buy and sell,” she said.

A trader in Zuba market, Ebube Eze, expressed worry that the prices of garri, beans and bread were still rising even though the price of the dollar had come down.

He attributed the high cost of food items to insecurity and the government’s decision to remove fuel subsidies.

Mr Eze said that a bag of beans which initially sold for N100,000 now goes for N150,000, while a mudu of brown beans goes for N3,200, and the white beans are sold between N2,600 and N2, 800.

(NAN)