By Emediong Dianabasi Okon

Food items are getting costlier for residents of Uyo metropolis in Akwa Ibom State as prices of goods climb higher, fuelling hunger and taking a big bite out of consumers’ wallets.

According to a survey conducted by our Correspondent across major markets in Uyo, prices of food items have surged by more than 70 percent since January 2024.

This is coming on the heels of lingering insecurity challenges such as ‘one chance’ robbery, cultism, internet scam and phone snatching, among others.

At the beginning of January and up to February 2024, garri, a major staple in Uyo, sold at N100 a cup, but now a cup sells for N200.

A wrap of fufu, another staple, which was N50 during the period, now sells at N150 and the quantity has reduced drastically.

A 50 kg bag of foreign rice has shot up from N50,000 in December 2023, to N80,000 a bag and N500 a cup, this April.

Beans, which used to sell at N50 a cup, now sells at N350 for the same measure.

A bag of crayfish which sold for N60,000 or N70,000 per bag now sells for N125,000 per bag.

A medium-sized tin of NAN Optipro baby milk was N 4,800 at the beginning of April, but right now a can of NAN Optipro baby milk sells for N8,000.

Prices of groundnut oil, palm oil, maggi, cow meat, goat meat, chicken, iced fish, dried fish, toothpastes, body creams, other staples etc, have similarly increased astronomically, making it hard for an average resident to purchase them.

Mercy Etim a trader at Itam market said, “The transportation cost to get these goods is high.

“A basin of garri used to be N5,000, but now it is more than N15,000.

“If I don’t sell at N200 a cup, I won’t make any profit and I will not be able to take care of my family.”

A resident of Uyo, Victoria Ekpuma, said she went to Akpanandem market to buy goat meat for N500 and was threatened by the market woman with a knife, who said, ‘When last did you eat meat, that you’re pricing my meat for N500’.

She added that as she couldn’t get the meat she had to go home.

A trader at Akpanandem market, Lucy Emeka, said it was not their fault that they sold at such marked up prices.

“Viva plus detergent powder 850g was N1,100 as at February but it is now N1,800,” she said, adding that if they don’t sell at those prices, they won’t even get back their capital or made any profit.

“With the constant surging prices, food alone now accounts for 70 percent of my monthly income,” said Patience Effiong, a private school teacher in Uyo, who is earning a monthly income of N20,000.

“Food is life and we cannot afford not to eat, no matter the price.

“Life in Nigeria is now characterised by the struggle to afford necessities such as food,” she added.

“The continuous surge in prices has wiped off savings from my monthly salary. I cannot even save any more. I spend 60 percent of my income on food alone and the rest on transportation and accommodation,” said Timothy Chukwueze, a sales representative at Itam market.

“The worst thing is that the prices won’t go back down, I haven’t seen anything that goes up and comes down again in this country,” he added.

There are many factors that can contribute to increasing food prices, including inflation, transportation costs, food scarcity, and more.

One can only hope the situation improves soon.

It is also expected that those in the corridors of power will have the political will to provide the enabling environment that will make the necessities of life available to the rich and the poor in Nigeria. We can only hope. Yes, we can.