Residents of Osogbo in Osun have lamented the high cost of food, urging the federal government to establish price control boards to regulate the cost of staple foods urgently.

The residents, who spoke on Wednesday in Osogbo, said the increase in the prices of basic food items in the markets was alarming.

Bolanle Raji, a baker, decried the sharp increase in the cost of baking and other food items in the market. She described the price increase as frustrating and said this was due to inflation and an increase in the cost of fuel.

“Before now, we were buying a bag of sugar for N35,000 to N40,000, but now, a bag of sugar has now doubled in price. A crate of eggs was between N1200 and N1500 before,  but now it is N3500 to N3700. Icing sugar was sold at N950 to N1000, but now it is N2500.

“In my own opinion, the increased price of fuel is the reason. Every industry buys fuel for production and transportation, and, at the point of selling the end product, they increase prices to ensure they do not run at a loss.

“In most cases, the marketers are not transparent in their sales. They take every opportunity to increase the cost of items, knowing fully well that the consumers do not have a choice but to buy at any rate,” she said.

Ms Raji appealed to the government to set up a regulatory body to monitor the prices of food items, adding that the poor can no longer breathe.

Another resident, Opeoluwa Oyetunji, a medical practitioner, said traders sell their wares at different prices due to a lack of price control.

“You should not really stand in one place to buy food items because a lot of the people selling are opportunists. In the same market, you see a particular item selling for N3000,  but if you go to another place, it would be N2,700 or N2,500,” she said.

Mr Oyetunji appealed to the government to find a lasting solution to the exploitation of the poor masses by traders.

Isabella Williamson, a housewife, said foodstuffs were now expensive and becoming out of reach of the poor.

Ms Williamson said a bowl used to measure cassava flour (garri) used to cost N600 but now sold for N1,200.

She said, “Garri, when it was N600, people thought it was expensive, and it kept increasing until it reached N1,500. A measuring bowl (congo) of beans is now N3,000 from N1,700. The prices vary these days in the market, and traders are selling as they like.

“Everybody is blaming the hike in fuel for the increase in prices.

“Even farmers are also attributing ewedu leaves (jute leaves) to unstable dollar rates. Do we use dollars in Nigeria?”

Ms Williamson appealed to the government to do everything possible to stabilise the economy.

A visit to major supermarkets in Osogbo revealed a sharp increase in the prices of items such as vegetable oil, soya oil, rice, sanitary pads, and detergent, among other items that have seen an increase in prices.

Workers in the visited supermarkets, who chose to remain anonymous, said prices escalated due to inflation, an increase in fuel prices, and unstable dollar rates.

A supermarket attendant said the price of five litres of vegetable oil was between N5,500 and N5,800.

“Now, King’s Vegetable Oil costs N13,560, while a three-litre bottle costs N8,100. For Mamador vegetable oil, the last one, 500 millilitres, costs N1,500, which used to be sold for between N600 and N700,” she said.

(NAN)