Tomato
By Uwumarogie Peter
Abuja, April 18, 2018 (NAN) Tomato dealers in the FCT on Wednesday, attributed the increase in the prices of tomato to weather conditions.
The dealers said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while reacting to complaints by consumers in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
Mr Adamu Musa, the National Organising Secretary, National Tomato Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, said told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the increase was usual for now.
‘‘As usual, by this time every year, the prices of tomato always go up as a result of some seasonal factors such as the cultivating timetable and the available quantities.
‘‘The harvest we are having now is getting exhausted and this is usually the case every April, May and June.
‘‘In August and September when Benue, Gombe, Plateau and Kaduna states start harvesting tomatoes, the price is expected to be within N1,500 and N2,500.
‘‘Most tomato growers have other crops that they grow and because it is wet season, attention will be shifted to the other crops.
‘‘So you now see that all these factors put together fluctuate the price of tomato from time to time,’’ the secretary said.
Mr Ibrahim Musa, a tomato dealer with a 16-year experience, said the increase was due to shortage in the quantity of tomato as a result of the rains.
‘‘The acid in the early rains witnessed in the country has affected tomatoes.
‘‘Dry season tomato growers complained that the early rains spoiled their produce, as a result, there was shortage in quantity of tomato in the market.
‘‘The hike in price is not a deliberate act; it happens every year. If you study the trend, you will know why there is an increase.
‘‘The price of tomato now is fair compared to last year when it was over N15,000.
‘‘President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended for encouraging tomato farmers, especially during the ‘Tomato Ebola era’ that almost made farmers jettison tomato growing in the country.
‘‘The fact that the price of tomato has not increased to the 2017 level proves that the President’s zeal to make agriculture the major foreign earner for the country was working,’’ he said.
However, Mrs Eneh Ogbeh, a tomato consumer, at Ta’al Community Orange (Fruit and vegetable) Market in Mararaba, decried the sudden hike in the price of tomatoes.
She told NAN that the increase in the price was a deliberate attempt by dealers to make more profits.
‘‘The price of a basket of tomato which sold for between N2,500 and N3,500, some few weeks back, now sells for between N6,500 and N9,000.
‘‘I think this increase is a deliberate act by the dealers to exploit consumers,’’ she said.
NAN reports that between February and March, 2017, a big basket of tomato which cost N3, 000 to N3, 500 increased to N15, 000 to N20, 000. (NAN)
UP/MOL/DUA
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Dada Ahmed