{"id":562,"date":"2026-07-10T10:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T09:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=562"},"modified":"2026-07-10T11:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T10:11:40","slug":"worsening-economy-bites-hard-as-traders-lament-rising-fuel-food-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=562","title":{"rendered":"Worsening Economy Bites Hard As Traders Lament Rising Fuel, Food Prices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Serome Oghenekevwe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A foodstuff trader at Abraka Market, Campus 2, Delta State, has raised concerns over the rising cost of agricultural products, blaming high fuel prices and worsening economic conditions for the current hardship faced by traders and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Joy, who has been in the business for over 20 years, said the prices of essential food items such as pepper, tomatoes, and onions have risen significantly, making it difficult for both sellers and buyers to cope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings were better when I started this business. We could make reasonable profits<\/em>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut in recent years, the situation has changed drastically. This is one of the most challenging periods I have experienced<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Agric Unit Records Growth In Poultry, Fishery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, the increase in food prices became more pronounced following the removal of fuel subsidy under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that the hike in fuel prices has driven up transportation costs, farming expenses, and the general price of food items in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe immediate impact of fuel price hikes is always reflected in the cost of agricultural products,<\/em>\u201d Mrs. Joy stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFarmers and traders now spend more on transportation and logistics to move goods from rural areas to urban markets.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU-SUG Begins Week-Long Celebration, Targets Campus Inclusiveness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she noted that the price of cooking oil has recorded a slight reduction, she said most other food items remain expensive, placing heavy pressure on households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFive thousand naira cannot even cook a pot of soup or stew again because agricultural products are expensive,<\/em>\u201d she lamented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven lecturers, doctors, engineers need food to eat. Food is a basic necessity in everyday life.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Joy appealed to the government to take urgent steps to reduce fuel prices, stressing that such a move would help lower the cost of food and ease the burden on traders and consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Poultry Business More Profitable Than White Collar Jobs, Says Farmer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some buyers who spoke at the market also expressed frustration over the persistent increase in food prices. They said the development has reduced purchasing power and made it difficult for families to afford essential items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traders across Abraka Market said the unstable market conditions and rising transportation costs continue to threaten small-scale businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Joy urged Nigerians to embrace farming as a means of self-reliance, saying agriculture should not be neglected or viewed as a “dirty profession.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUntil fuel prices are reduced, agricultural products will remain expensive and the situation may even get worse,<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Serome Oghenekevwe A foodstuff trader at Abraka Market, Campus 2, Delta State, has raised concerns over the rising cost of agricultural products, blaming high fuel prices and worsening economic conditions for the current hardship faced by traders and consumers. Mrs. Joy, who has been in the business for over 20 years, said the prices […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,25,145,144,33,30,28],"class_list":["post-562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-delsu","tag-food","tag-food-insecurity","tag-health","tag-insecurity","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=562"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":567,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions\/567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}