The price of pepper has increased by over 100% after Eid-Ul-fitr celebration in many parts of Ilọrin metropolis.

A visit to some local Hausa pepper sellers at Tanke community, Ilorin, revealed that the price of a sack of red pepper has doubled from N100,000 to N200,000 per sack.

"We usually buy a sack of red pepper for N100,000 in the past, like last year, but presently, we buy a sack for double the price", Abubakar Alhaji, a pepper seller, said adding that the situation is taking a toll with low sales.

He explained that "most of our brothers who bring fresh pepper to this area are not yet back from their Sallah holiday in the North. The available pepper we have is not enough to supply the residents. Demand is high but there is low supply, that is the main cause, not actually transportation.

"And some traders who sell in bulk, hoard the commodity to sell at high prices. It has really affected us, but we have to make ends meet", he said.

On his part, Monsur Barkeaji, another pepper vendor, echoed the same sentiments and attributed the soaring prices to the last Eid-ul-fitr celebration.

Meanwhile, residents in the Tanke area of the metropolis lamented the situation.

According to Olatunji Fathia, a student of a tertiary institution in Ilorin, she has "stopped using fresh (red) peppers due to the high prices and opted for dried or grinded pepper and sachet tomatoes instead to cook.

"A plate of about 7 to 8 pepper that we used to buy for N200 is not N500 and in smaller quantity", she noted

Mrs. Kayode Alabi, a food seller said, "we don't gain as much as we do because we have to buy in small quantities and when we sell with food, customers complain that it's too small. I don't have any alternative because not using the fresh pepper will alter the taste of my stew and soups".