Business

Rising Cost Of Tomato: Households Adopt Weird Alternatives To Make Stew

Published

1 year ago

June 24, 2024

Nigerians are coming to terms with the rising cost of living, as everyday spews out new problems deserving a survival strategy.

One of such problems is the high price of tomato, pepper and onion.

These combos can’t be exempted from 80 per cent of Nigerian delicacies.

But now, it is no longer new that a N1,000 tomato consisting of five medium-sized pieces can not prepare a full pot of sauce for a household of three people for a week.

Vanguard found that many women have been struggling with various methods to complement rice, yam and other delicacies that are not complete without stew.

For Mrs. Gladys Maxwell, a tailor, she made use of N1,000 cucumber to complement her yam and rice sauce, after watching a presentation of such online.

“I have tried using cucumber to prepare sauce, just like tomato.
“I saw the demonstration on-line and followed the steps.

“I added fresh pepper and used palm oil to make it red in colour.

“It was good. My pot was full. Imagine replacing tomato sauce with cucumber mix.

“Cucumber is also vegetable.
“I had to tell a friend to adopt the strategy.

“I made my family to finish the meal before I revealed the combination that made the sauce on their rice. They were surprised.

“It’s good we try new things to survive in this country, because I doubt the price of tomato and peppers will come down soon.”

Mrs. Hannah Mayowa, a Point of Sale, PoS, agent, said she tried replacing tomato sauce with cabbage and beetroot.

“I was with a friend a few weeks ago. I complained bitterly about how I struggle to manage money to prepare tomato sauce weekly for my family.

“You know that many families in Nigeria, especially Lagos State, have this tradition of preparing rice and tomato sauce every Sunday.

“My family happened to fall into such a category.

“My friend told me to try cucumber or cabbage and beetroot stew.

“She sent the videos to me and I decided to do that of carrot and beetroot.

“After boiling and blending them, the outcome was like the sachet tomato paste we buy in the market.

“I was shocked and at the same time happy that I found a solution to my worries with just N2,000.

“I have tried using carrot but the taste I don’t like and it makes my last child visit the toilet a lot.

“I pray the price of tomato drops. There is nothing like it when preparing sauce.”

Mrs. Modupeoluwa Adebowale, a trader, said she had a taste of cucumber sauce and doesn’t like it.

She added: “I decided to use our old solution which was the use of dried habanero pepper. I soaked it till it softened and blended it with enough onion to fine-tune its taste. Then I add sachet tomato paste. My sauce is ready.

“The habanero pepper is known to thicken sauce.”

However, the replacement of tomatoes using other alternatives for preparing sauce has affected tomato sellers and grinders in the market.

Mrs. Rahimot Mojeed, a fresh tomato seller, said: “Since the price of tomato and pepper increased, sales have dropped.

“Before, when there was a drop in supply of tomatoes due to the out of season effect, people still managed to buy.

“But now, there is nothing like that. I heard people now use cucumber, carrot and cabbage to prepare sauce the most. Some even use “ata gbigbe” meaning dry habanero pepper and sachet tomato paste to prepare stew for rice.

“I now buy tomatoes in little quantities because it is a perishable good and it’s now expensive. When it softens, it will result in a huge loss for me as there’s less patronage.”

Miss Patience Oboh, a pepper grinder said she patronized the market asking those buying tomatoes to allow her to blend it for a N200 fee.

“In a day, I have up to 20 people who I blend tomatoes for.

“Since the price of tomatoes increased, I hardly get 10 customers.

“I now have to roam the market searching for those who are interested in blending their tomatoes of which many decline saying,

“I will use my blender at home. The way tomatoes are expensive now, I can’t allow your machine to consume half of it all in the name of blending.”

“It is a phase. I believe it will pass.”

SOURCE: VANGUARD

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

1 week ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

3 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

2 months ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.