NIGERIA - Tomato fruit
prices are skyrocketing across the country on account of delayed
seasonal rains, inadequate off-season irrigation planning, a rising and
ebbing fuel scarcity , and roads in disrepair.
Consumers have thus turned to buying up stocks of canned
tomato puree, causing highier than expected sales in that segment.
External economies are however benefiting most from this development, as
most canned tomato products are imported.
Tomatoes constitute 18 percent of all vegetables consumed by the Nigerian populace, according to a research by the Agricultural Economics department of the University of Ibadan.
Early in 2014, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, then
governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expressed concern about
Nigeria’s N16 billion annual
import bill on tomato pastes. This, he said, was due to very high
demand for tomatoes in the country, which unfortunately, the farmers
could not provide because of poor storage methods.
This year’s price increase has reached an
unusual high of N30,000 for a 50kg basket of tomatoes at the Mile 12
market – a major farm produce hub in Lagos.
