Diseases, high transportation costs and insecurity in the North have all been blamed for Nigeria's tomato shortage, which has led to its price increasing.
The high cost of the crop has forced restaurants, grocers, households and other consumers to cut down on the quantities they buy. Four pieces of tomatoes cost as much as N200; that is N50 per tomato. Since the end of March, when tomatoes became scarce, consumers have been bearing the brunt as traders pass the hike in prices to them.
About 75 per cent of vegetables, such as tomatoes, consumed in the country, come from the Northeast and Northwest parts of the country. In recent weeks, vegetable shipments from the North have dropped, while prices have soared by as much as 100 per cent.
Some weeks back in Lagos, a basket of tomatoes sold for between N4,000 and N6,000. But now, it costs between N20,000 and N25,000.
Factors for the shortage, many traders said, include the fuel crisis; insurgency; the recent Mile 12, Lagos crisis and viral attacks on the crop.
Reacting to the situation, the Programme Co-ordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Elder Victor Olowe, who co-ordinates a massive number of farmers across the Southwest, told The Nation that the fuel scarcity made it expensive for farmers to move tomatoes from the North to the South.
He also said farmers in the Southwest were just starting to prepare the ground for the planting season. Consequently, according to him, the prices of tomatoes will still be on the high side.
“This is because farmers are still a couple of weeks from harvesting, since they just started planting. It’s likely that the high prices will hold for a while,” he said, adding: “If the weather holds out, supplies from the southwest will improve.”
However, he said supplies were expected to remain tight until mid-July or August, when some farmers would have harvested their crops.
