{"id":832,"date":"2026-07-12T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=832"},"modified":"2026-07-12T14:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T13:00:32","slug":"traders-consumers-decry-rising-cost-of-pepper-tomatoes-in-abraka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=832","title":{"rendered":"Traders, Consumers Decry Rising Cost Of Pepper, Tomatoes In Abraka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Miracle Oghenekaro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fir many residents and students in Abraka, a visit to Abraka Main Market has become a frustrating and expensive experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prices of pepper and tomatoes \u2014 two of the most essential ingredients in Nigerian cooking \u2014 have risen sharply in recent weeks, leaving both traders and consumers struggling to cope with the new reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market women at Abraka Main Market have attributed the increases to a combination of factors, including fuel costs, rising transportation fares, seasonal scarcity, and the high cost of farming inputs in the north, where much of the produce is sourced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these pressures have pushed the cost of basic cooking ingredients far beyond what many Abraka residents can comfortably afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Tracy Chovwe, a trader at the market, explained that a Hausa supplier who delivers tomatoes to her stall linked the spike directly to scarcity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, the supplier told her that farmers had just begun planting a new season\u2019s crops, meaning the current supply on the market is limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey just started planting new ones,\u201d she said, adding that suppliers are managing what little stock remains by selling in small quantities rather than in bulk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This rationing of supply, she explained, is a key reason prices have been driven upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers tell a stark story. Mrs. Princess Jude, another trader, said a bag of pepper that once sold for \u20a630,000 now goes for between \u20a670,000 and \u20a690,000 \u2014 more than double its former price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She attributed part of the increase to seasonality, explaining that the pepper trade operates in cycles and that the variety currently available on the market is freshly harvested, which typically commands a higher price. Different types of pepper also carry different price points, she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTransportation is quite expensive,\u201d she added, pointing to the long distance produce must travel from northern Nigeria to reach Abraka markets in Delta State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes have fared even worse than pepper. Mrs. Jude said a basket of tomatoes that previously cost \u20a615,000 now sells for between \u20a690,000 and \u20a6135,000 \u2014 nearly a ninefold increase that has left many buyers in disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed to transportation as the single biggest driver of the tomato price surge, explaining that the cost of moving perishable goods across long distances has risen alongside fuel prices nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Jennifer, another trader, placed much of the blame squarely on the rising cost of fuel. \u201cFuel is just too expensive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf fuel keeps increasing, the price of things will keep going up \u2014 not just tomatoes or pepper.\u201d She painted a broader picture of the crisis, explaining that it does not begin at the market but at the farm level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farming inputs such as fertilisers, chemicals, and labour have all become more expensive, making it costlier to cultivate crops in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the produce is harvested and loaded onto trucks headed south, the price has already begun climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the goods travel from the north toward Abraka, she said, the price increases gradually along the route, and the trucks finally arrive, some of the tomatoes are already spoiled, further shrinking the available supply and pushing prices even higher. A crate of pepper that once cost between \u20a625,000 and \u20a630,000 now sells for between \u20a685,000 and \u20a690,000, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For consumers, the reality is hitting particularly hard. Sunday Success Oghale, a student who recently returned to Abraka for the new semester, said she was visibly shocked when she went to the market to buy pepper after resumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially convinced that a seller was trying to cheat her, she walked through the entire market comparing prices from stall to stall \u2014 only to confirm that the increases were consistent and real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLast semester, pepper and tomatoes was okay,\u201d she said. \u201cI did not believe that I would resume school to see they have increased price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her experience reflects a wider frustration among students and low-income residents in Abraka, many of whom depend on affordable produce to manage their daily feeding costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation points to a deeper and more systemic problem. Nigeria\u2019s food supply chain remains heavily dependent on long-distance transportation from northern farming communities to southern markets, making it extremely vulnerable to fuel price fluctuations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the cost of diesel rises, everything connected to it \u2014 from farm inputs to truck haulage \u2014 rises with it, and it is ordinary consumers at the end of the chain who feel it most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traders at Abraka Main Market warn that unless fuel prices stabilise and the new planting season produces a strong harvest, consumers and students in the Abraka community should brace themselves and expect little relief in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Miracle Oghenekaro Fir many residents and students in Abraka, a visit to Abraka Main Market has become a frustrating and expensive experience. The prices of pepper and tomatoes \u2014 two of the most essential ingredients in Nigerian cooking \u2014 have risen sharply in recent weeks, leaving both traders and consumers struggling to cope with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,67,44],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-economy","tag-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions\/833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}