A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday revealed that prices of grains and staple foods like rice, beans, yams, and garri have reduced in markets across the Kaduna State.
This comes as a relief after the sharp increase in food prices in 2024.
At the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Market in Kaduna, the central market, a 50kg bag of foreign rice that sold for N125,000 to N130,000 last year now sells for N120,000 to N123,000.
Similarly, yams that were sold for N7,000 per tuber or N28,000 for a set of five are now priced at N5,000 to N6,000, while smaller ones are sold at a reduced rate of N2,500 during bonanzas.
The price of a local measure of eight cups of beans has dropped from N3,000–N3,500 to N2,500, and garri, which was previously N1,400–N1,500 per measure, now costs N1,200. A carton of Indomie noodles has also seen a slight reduction, from N7,700 to N7,500.
Consumers have expressed hope that food prices will continue to fall. Hafsat Muhammad noted, “I now buy a local measure of rice for N2,100 instead of N2,400. Corn, which was N1,200 before, now sells for N900.”
A businesswoman, Hajiya Ummi Shuaibu, said she had stored bags of maize after harvest, expecting prices to rise as they did last year. “A bag of corn that used to cost N60,000 now sells for N50,000 to N55,000. I must sell them off quickly to avoid losses,” she explained.
