The price of household food items has recorded tremendous spike in recent weeks, with consumers and households particularly complaining about the price of Onions, which they now call the “new gold”.
The persistent increase and scarcity of onions in major markets have become a rather interesting topic in recent times as the price of a big bag of dry Onions sells for an average of N80,000, while some markets sell for as high as N85,000 in Lagos State.
Some traders have termed the increase as just a seasonal fluctuation, while some have blamed it on the #EndSARS protest. However, there is more to it than meets the eye, which is why Nairalytics, a research arm of Nairametrics which tracks the prices of major food items in Lagos, Nigeria, visited the Onion Section of Mile-12 market in Lagos State to get insights into the root cause of the irregular trend in price.
Below are some of the reasons highlighted by Onion traders at the market: Increase in price of fertilizers, Seasonal fluctuations, Insecurity, Strike actions resulting from the #EndSARS protests and General increment in the price of items amongst others
What’s the trend like?
A look into the historical trend in the price of a big bag of Onions, reveals a 325% increase in the price of dry onions from an average of N20,000 recorded earlier in January 2020 to N85,000 as of November 10, 2020. Also, a 261.1% increase in the price of new onions from N18,000 to N65,000.
Read Also: 14 Amazing Health Benefits Of Onions
Note that between May and July, new onion was not sold in the various markets visited, it resurfaced in August 2020 – mainly due to seasonality of the commodity.
What you should know: Onion is one of the most commonly consumed vegetable crops in the world and widely eaten by Nigeria, as there is hardly a local Nigerian dish that does not require the use of onions in its preparation.
In Nigeria, onion is grown mostly in Northern states like Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Sokoto, Plateau, Bauchi, and Kebbi State.
There are different varieties of onions, which include red, white, and yellow onion. The red is the most common one in Nigeria and it is of great commercial value to its farmers.
As of October 2020, food inflation (16.66%) is at its highest since March 2018.
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