The inconsistency and fluctuation in the prices of onions over the years have continued unabated. Between the past three weeks and now, or thereabouts, the hitherto high price of the vegetable has dropped drastically.
There is a large availability of the farm produce in the market, including the largest vegetable market in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
That is the Farin Gada vegetable market in Jos North, which business activities or situations have prevailing impacts on other markets in the state capital as most vegetable sellers and buyers alike get the crops from the market.
Hence, the recent crash in onion prices and the surplus availability of the produce has also had an instant impact on market, even as the produce from different northern states have also flooded the market.
Recall that over the years, the price of onions in the country has been fluctuating, such that it can become so expensive that purchasing one or two pieces can become difficult for some families, while other times it is cheap and surplus and bought at almost give-away prices.
This fluctuation has made it impossible to make predictions on its profitability, and commercial farmers and sellers alike engage in it in expectation of favourable outcomes.
And as a widespread consumed vegetable in Nigerian households, its cultivation and sale have therefore, become very necessary. Most foods prepared in houses, restaurants, occasions and other functions are done with the input of onions. It is very popular among vegetables in Nigeria.
It is mostly grown in the northern states of the federation, among which Plateau ranks prominent in its cultivation and sale.
Regarding the current price crash therefore, the attendant impact has also been felt in Jos, yet sellers said they remained unsettled as they are still making their earnings, irrespective of the drop.
According to the sellers, why they are not feeling the heat of the price crash or making losses is that the crash too is from the source/farms, so they buy at a cheaper rate compared to what they were buying few weeks back.
A seller in Farin Gada market, Isah Idris, said that about two weeks ago, they were selling onions between N60,000 - N65,000 and N70,000 - I75,000, depending on the size and species.
The 36-year-old farmer said they were buying onions between N50,000 and N55,000, explaining that the foremost reason the price of the crop dropped is because the purchasing power of people is low as there is no much money in people's hands due to the economic hardship in the country.
He also said they now bought from Maiduguri, Sokoto and Kano, and that formerly, it was mostly Maiduguri alone. So, the supply and purchase from the other states have also forced down the price because it has stimulated the atmosphere of competition and no one can afford to have the monopoly of price.
Idris said they were still expecting the price to drop further between February and March as the produce from Kano were still trouping in and set to continue in the next one or two months.
He said that when the price was previously high, they used to make between N1,500 and N2,000 on each bag, and they are still making that amount because the drop in the price is not only on their part, but from the sources where they also get their supply. In that respect, there is some kind of balance.
However, he said that due to the surplus onions they currently have, buyers are not enough to purchase all of them, and that even at the farms or sources of purchase, there are still a lot of the produce on ground.
He called on the government to be more supportive than before in the agricultural sector as it is a vital sector that can tackle poverty and hunger in the country.
Another seller, Abdullahi Salisu, said that formerly, he was selling a bag of his own species between N100,000 and N130,000, but now, it is from N70,000 downwards. According to him, it all depend on the quality, bag size, as well as the onion size.
He said that when the onion was expensive, it was equally scarce, adding that the number of bags supplied to the market daily was between 10 and 20 bags, but now, they get up to 250 bags via trucks.
"Another reason onions were expensive few weeks back was because those in circulation were mostly that of rain-fed cultivation. But now, those cultivated through irrigation are now being harvested and added to that of the rain-fed.
"Besides, the irrigated onions are more cultivated than the rain-fed ones by farmers, that is why they are more surplus upon harvesting, then they flood the market and force down the price.
"The rain-fed cultivation is mostly in Sokoto, and sometimes, Bauchi, while the irrigation ones are cultivated in more states, including Kano, Yobe, Maiduguri, Sokoto itself and other places.
"Nevertheless, we still make gains irrespective of the drop in the price. When the price was high, I can make up to N5,000,N6,000 and even up to N10,000 in a bag. But now, what we get in a bag is between N2,000 and N3,000. And in a day, I can sell up to three bags if sales are good," he said.
Salisu further explained that they mostly sold in different sizes of baskets after opening every bag and sharing in the different baskets, adding that he has been selling onions for the past 10 years.
He said he was also a farmer and cultivated maize, millet, rice and even onions, not in Plateau State but Sokoto.
On his part, the chairman of onion sellers in the market, Adamu Ibrahim, said he even sold bags at up to N110,000 weeks back, but it now dropped to N60,000 and N65,000, and even N50,000, depending on size and quality.
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The chairman said part of their work as an association/union was to intimate their members on market happenings/forces and prices, so that, for instance, as onion prices have dropped one will not mistakenly go and buy at a high prize, and then sell at a loss.
He said they also enlightened themselves on the quantity and quality of onions to purchase, particularly according to one's purchasing power, and they advise accordingly in that respect. He noted that they also advise themselves on transportation system, storage etc.
Ibrahim said he was also a farmer in Kano. He said he cultivated rice, maize and other crops, but that he does not cultivate onions because it requires lots of attention, nurturing and conducive land for cultivation. So, as a market/salesman, he said he could not have the time to give the necessary attention to onion cultivation.
He projected that from now to March, the price of onions would still be low, and from June, the price would begin to rice again.
He cautioned people against buying now to store until the price is high before selling to make gains, saying the storage and preservation and other unforeseen circumstances might be unfavourable and they might incur losses eventually.
He advised his members to carry out their business in line with market trends and forces, and should not do things beyond their capacity.
