Traders in Lagos State markets have denied accusations that they are arbitrarily raising food prices. They attribute the rising costs to insecurity in various parts of the country, which has disrupted supplies from farmers.
These accusations prompted the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to conduct market surveillance across the country.
During a meeting with the FCCPC mission on Wednesday, Chairman of the Mile 12 International Perishable Market, Alhaji Shehu Usman, said, “Nobody is inflating anything. The reason for rising costs of food items is because most farmers have been chased away from the farms by bandits, and many of them are now in IDP camps.”
He emphasized that the key to resolving the issue is ensuring that farmers can safely return to their fields.
“The problem is enormous. The federal government should just make sure it provides enough security for people to continue farming. That is the only solution. As long as farmers are not able to go to the farms, food items will remain expensive,” Usman added.
Alhaji Taofik Olorunkemi, Chairman of Ile Epo Oke Odo Market, echoed similar sentiments, highlighting that insecurity, particularly kidnapping, prevents farmers from working on their lands. He also pointed out that the removal of fuel subsidies has led to higher petrol prices, which in turn has increased transportation costs.
“Another reason for the food inflation is the increase in the price of petrol as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, which has led to increase in the cost of transportation,” Olorunkemi said.
