Housewives Lament As Tomato Prices Soar

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2023

Editor

Some housewives in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Sunday said they have ditched tomatoes for their stews and other sauces as cost skyrockets.

The residents, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, said they have resorted to using garden eggplants and carrots in their stews.

They said garden egg, called “ganyen gauta” in Hausa, “igba” in Yoruba, and “anyara” in Igbo, could blend very well with rice in the same manner as tomatoes.

Others said they were exploring pumpkin, pawpaw, or traditional soups like white soup and palm fruit soup popularly called banga soup in place of tomato stew.

Mrs Jumai Amodu, a mother of five, said a week without rice with tomato stew was unfulfilling for her and the family.

She said rice with stew was a regular on their menu, adding that “there is an unexplainable satisfaction that comes with taking cooked rice and stew.”

The mother of five, however, said with the scarcity and high cost of tomatoes, her family was exploring garden egg stew.

Amodu said, “Since tomatoes became very expensive, we decided to use garden egg for stew and it is as sweet as tomato stew.

“The only major difference between garden egg stew and tomato stew is the colour.

“We also use pumpkin stew with rice sometimes and although it has its unique taste, it blends well with rice.”

Mrs Helen Omo, a businesswoman, said although tomato stew was an important recipe in almost all homes in Nigeria, its scarcity had made some Nigerians think of alternatives.

“I went to the market yesterday to get some tomatoes for stew and a sizeable bushel, which costs between N2000 and N2500 was being sold for as much as N6500.

“I did not bother to haggle the price because it was way beyond my budget,” she said.

Mr Chinedu, an entrepreneur, told NAN that he enjoyed taking rice with pepper soup or white soup.

“The prices of all foodstuff have gone up but that of tomatoes is outrageous probably because it is tomatoes off-season.

“Besides being expensive, it is very scarce and as a result, we decided to explore other recipes,” he said.

Umar Adamu, a tomatoes retailer in Nyanya market in the FCT, said he had stopped retailing tomatoes for some days due to low patronage.

He said customers were not “patronising him because of the high cost.”

Mrs Rukkaya Umar, Chief Executive Officer, Abraks Farm Produce Nigeria Limited said the primary reason for the scarcity of tomatoes was the high cost of fertiliser.

According to her, many tomato farmers do not grow it because they cannot afford fertiliser, adding that fertiliser was critical to its growth.

Umar also said reliance on seasonal farming was one of the reasons for the scarcity, adding that it was tomatoes off-season.

“Most farmers in Nigeria still do seasonal farming and that is contributing greatly to scarcity of farm produce particularly in their off-seasons,” she said.

NAN reports that a sizeable basket of tomatoes which hitherto sold for about N10,000 now sells for about N35,000 while big baskets cost more.

NAN

Dangote Refinery Reduces Fuel Price

Published

1 day ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the ex-depot (gantry) price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol, by N30, from N850 to N820 per litre, effective from August 12, 2025.

This was disclosed in a statement by the company’s spokesman, Anthony Chijiena, on Tuesday.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day plant said the move is part of its unwavering commitment to national development, assuring the public of a consistent and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products.

Business

Indian Refiners Abandon Russia For Nigerian Crude, As Dangote Refinery Relies On US

Published

2 days ago

August 11, 2025

Editor

India Refineries have abandoned Russian crude for Nigerian crude, while domestic refiner Dangote Refinery relies heavily on West Texas Intermediate crude from the United States of America.

This followed a recent sanction threat by US president Donald Trump on India over continued patronage of Russian crude.

According to Reuters, industry sources said that Indian Oil Corporation recently bought one million barrels of Nigeria’s Agbami crude for September 2025 delivery in a tender awarded to global trader Trafigura.

Also included are one million barrels of Angola Girassol, one million barrels of US Mars, three million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban, and two million barrels of Nigerian oil, according to Reuters.

The report noted that the purchase is part of a broader sourcing spree that has seen Indian refiners secure millions of barrels from non-Russian sources post July 2025.

Meanwhile, Indian refiners secured purchases of Nigerian crude grades; the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, is relying on around 60 percent on US and other imoorts to feed its processing units.

Data showed that the refinery imported an average of 10 million barrels in July 2025, saying it was increasingly relying on the US for its feedstock despite the naira-for-crude deal with the Federal Government, which kicked off in October last year.

According to Reuters, the Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum have bought a million barrels of non-Russian crude billed for delivery in September and October after the US pressured India to halt purchases from Russia.

Business

NNPCL Increases Fuel Price

Published

1 week ago

August 5, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.

It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.

This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.

Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.

This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.

This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.