Traders Attribute Hike Food Price To Fuel Subsidy Removal

…As FCCPC storm Osun markets

The significant increase in food prices in Nigeria has been attributed to the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Traders in major markets have blamed the abrupt policy change, aimed at reducing government expenditure, which has led to higher transportation costs, which are being passed on to consumers.

This was stated in a fact-finding mission survey conducted by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, in Gbongon in Ayedade local government and Ifon markets in Orolu local government Area of Osun state to investigate the alarming rise in food prices.

Speaking during the market tour on Thursday the Zonal Coordinator for the South West zone, Mrs Janet Odo, said that the mission aims to interact directly with distributors, wholesalers, and retailers on the causes of food price hikes in Nigeria.

She stated that conspiracy by market associations and unions may be contributing to the price surge adding that the commission will provide a detailed report to the federal government, aiming to inform and shape policies related to competition and consumer protection.

According to her “We are here in Gbongon market boundary market between Oyo and Osun state. FCCPC has been engaging in a fact-finding mission to understand why the a high cost of food commodities in the market.

“We are in the Gbongon market to carry out our fact-finding mission to interact directly with those in the food shape, especially distributors, wholesalers, and retailers to gather our facts as to why there is a hike in food commodities at this particular time is shocking on consumers.

“The whole essence is to ensure consumer protection aspect of our mandate is being executed to ensure that consumers get fair pricing for food commodities.

“We have been able to speak with some people and gather our facts, carry out the survey, and from this survey we collate our findings and pass it on.

“This is a survey that is going on across the country, we collate our facts and send them down to serve as points of advising the federal government.

“Section 17b of our mandate says we should gather facts, review them, and from the facts advise the government on the policies that have to do with competition and consumer protection.

From our surveillance in the market, there has been a purported kind of conspiracy in the market, price gouging carried out by associations and unions in the market, which is why the an escalation in food prices.

” Today, the fact-finding mission is to help us analyze this situation ourselves, that is why we interacted with the consumers, sellers, and those in the distributive chain of food to find out what is the main cause of the high-cost goods commodities in the market.

“After our findings and collation of data, we will come out with a concrete analysis that this is the cause of food hikes.

” As for what we gathered from market executives which are Iyaloja and Babaloja their assertion is that as a result of inflation which as a whole affects the price of food.

While answering questions on the cause of food hike in Nigeria the Iyaloja of Olufi market, Gbongon, Temilade Adewale, said that the removal of fuel subsidy is the major cause of hike in food price in Nigeria markets.

She lamented that transporting a single bag of goods from the North, which previously cost #2,500, now costs #6,500, adding that the sharp increase is directly tied to the higher fuel prices following the subsidy removal.

She also blamed Customs Offices for collecting bribes on rice before they can have access to their goods.

According to her “The removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu caused the hike in food prices because when fuel is already cost people also added to the price of their goods.

” Before we used to transport one bag of goods from the North at the rate of#2500 but now it is #6500, also goods are cost now, for instance, our local rice is #1200 per congo but it is now #2200 from North last week.

“It is very difficult to get rice now from Cotonou because of customs officers, in the last three weeks they collected fifteen million, six hundred thousand nairas for bribe on eight buses of rice at Saki.