Foodstuff Dealers Decry High Cost Of Grains

The Association of Food
stuff Dealers in Enugu State has expressed worry over the high cost of some foodstuff especially grains in the state.
The Chairman of the association in Aria Market, Mr Nicholas Okolo, said that 2015 had been the worst season since he joined the business 25 years ago.
According to him, ordinarily, February and March of each year used to be the season we buy grains in large quantity and at cheaper rates for storage.
“During this period, in previous years, a bag of each product used to be within the range of N10, 000 to N14, 000 depending on the type of grain.
“But now, a bag of each product costs between N19, 000 and N22, 000 and it will be difficult to sell them during rainy season when farmers will be busy planting new crops,’’ he said.
The chairman said that price of rice had remained stable since the yuletide of 2014.
A dealer, Mr Felix Amu, said that he would not be able to store grains this year but would sell as he purchased them.
“If we buy the products at a high cost, how much do we sell to customers during the farming season,’’ Amu asked.
Amu said that a bag of brown beans costs N20, 000 as against N15, 000 and N17, 000 sold in December while they buy a bag of white or iron beans at N19, 000 as against N14, 000.
He also said that a bag of pigeon peas also known as Fio fio in Igboland is sold at N22, 000 as against N19, 000 while the price of cowpea bag rose from N18, 000 to N20, 000.
“I used to buy about 600 bags of different types of grains but this time around, I do not think I will buy up to 200 bags because of their high cost.
Another foodstuff dealer, Mr Anthony Igwe, said he had been in the business for 32 years and had never witnessed such a problem.
Igwe attributed the high cost of foodstuff to increased transportation fare due to fuel scarcity and insurgency in the Northern part of the country.
He appealed to the Federal Government to urgently look into the problems in the interest of the poor masses.