Leadership (Abuja)
Comfort Onche
23 July 2008
Abuja — Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) can now heave a sign of relief from the high cost of foodstuff as new food crops now flood markets in the territory and its surburbs.
These crops include beans, corn, groundnut and yams. Their appearance has made foodstuff relatively affordable for residents from different backgrounds across the FCT and environs, particularly the middle-class and the poor.
Investigation by LEADERSHIP shows that many traders now sell their old foodstuff at a give away price, in order to do away with them and stock the new foodstuff.
Some of the traders who were in interviewed by LEADERSHIP explained that the new crops have indeed made foodstuff prices to drop considerably. A foodstuff seller at the Garki old market, Ikenna Ikemefuna, said: "I'm selling my remaining old stock at cheap prices to create chances for the new ones, because very soon many people will not be interested in buying the old stuff again".
He added: "You know, it is not good mixing them (old and new crops) together, and besides, I won't have enough space to accommodate both of them because my shop is too small".
In the same vein, Malam Yunusa, who sells rice and beans at Wuse market said: "The reason I'm selling my foodstuff at cheap rates is to avoid losses. When new foodstuff and old ones are displayed together in the same shop, you would find out that the consumers always request for the new ones, because they are fresher and cheaper.
At least, you will see the old ones getting spoilt which results in a loss for me".
In a separate interview with LEADERSHIP, one of the residents of Mararaba, Madam Comfort Otumala, stated "I'm very much happier now to see the new crops in the market. Few months back, we saw hell because of high price of foodstuff, but now the price has dropped. A big bag of rice which used to be sold at N11, 000, is now selling at N8,500".
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
