Fresh-produce prices moved in opposite directions in the week to September 11, as ordinary tomatoes and wet-season onions rose by 16.7 per cent, while atarugu, cabbage and carrots recorded declines.
Ordinary tomatoes increased from N30,000 to N35,000 per 50kg basket between the Monday benchmark and Friday, while wet-season onions rose from N60,000 to N70,000 per 70kg bag. Dried white maize also increased, moving from N35,000 to N38,000 per 100kg bag, an 8.6 per cent rise.
The increases were partly offset by declines in the prices of atarugu, cabbage and carrots. Atarugu, or rodo, fell from N35,000 to N30,000 per 20kg bag, while cabbage declined from N40,000 to N35,000 per 30kg bag. Carrots fell by the same N5,000, from N40,000 to N35,000 per 60kg bag.
Several other commodities were unchanged, including hybrid tomatoes, shombo, okro, cucumber, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes and dry-season onions.
Taken together, the quoted prices for one package of each commodity rose from N605,000 at the start of the comparison period to N613,000 on Friday, an increase of N8,000, or about 1.3 per cent.
Tomatoes lead the upward movement
The most prominent fresh-produce increase was recorded in ordinary tomatoes.
The price of a 50kg basket rose from N30,000 to N35,000, adding N5,000 in five days. That represents a 16.7 per cent increase.
At the Friday price, ordinary tomatoes were equivalent to approximately N700 per kilogramme, compared with N600 at the Monday benchmark.
The movement is significant for food businesses because tomatoes are a core ingredient across a wide range of Nigerian meals. Restaurants, caterers, food vendors and households all rely heavily on the commodity, making changes in wholesale prices potentially visible further down the supply chain.
Hybrid tomatoes, however, remained unchanged at N35,000 per 25kg crate.
The stability of the hybrid price alongside the increase in ordinary tomatoes means the gap between the two varieties narrowed when measured by their headline package prices. At the start of the week, ordinary tomatoes were N5,000 cheaper than hybrid tomatoes; by Friday, both were quoted at N35,000.
But package sizes make the comparison more revealing.
Ordinary tomatoes at N35,000 per 50kg amount to about N700 per kilogramme. Hybrid tomatoes at the same N35,000 price for 25kg cost about N1,400 per kilogramme.
The hybrid variety therefore remained twice as expensive on a weight-adjusted basis, despite the two products carrying identical headline prices on Friday.
Wet-season onions rise while dry-season onions remain elevated
Onions produced the second major upward movement.
Wet-season onions increased from N60,000 to N70,000 per 70kg bag, a N10,000 increase equivalent to 16.7 per cent.
At the same time, dry-season onions remained unchanged at N95,000 per 70kg bag.
The result is a narrowing of the price differential between the two categories. On the Monday benchmark, dry-season onions were N35,000 more expensive than wet-season onions. By Friday, the gap had narrowed to N25,000.
On a kilogramme basis, the wet-season price increased from approximately N857 per kilogram to N1,000, while dry-season onions remained at approximately N1,357 per kilogramme.
That distinction is commercially relevant because onions are among the most widely used ingredients in the Nigerian food economy. Their price affects household food preparation as well as the procurement costs of restaurants, caterers, fast-food operators and other businesses.
Pepper prices move in opposite directions
Atarugu provided one of the clearest counterweights to the increases elsewhere in the market.
The price of a 20kg bag fell from N35,000 to N30,000, representing a N5,000 decline or 14.3 per cent.
On a unit basis, the price dropped from N1,750 per kilogram to N1,500.
Shombo, however, remained unchanged at N25,000 per 20kg bag.
Cabbage and carrots become cheaper
Cabbage and carrots both declined by N5,000 during the period.
Cabbage fell from N40,000 to N35,000 per 30kg bag, a decline of 12.5 per cent.
Carrots dropped from N40,000 to N35,000 per 60kg bag, also a 12.5 per cent decline.
The price reductions are notable because both commodities started the week among the more expensive vegetables on a package-price basis.
On Friday, however, their prices had moved down to N35,000.
The unit economics remain very different. At N35,000 per 30kg, cabbage costs about N1,167 per kilogramme, while carrots at N35,000 per 60kg cost approximately N583 per kilogramme.
Several staples refuse to move
While some vegetables registered substantial changes, a large portion of the market remained stable.
Shombo stayed at N25,000 per 20kg bag. Okro remained at N15,000 per 20kg bag.
Cucumber was unchanged at N30,000 per 30kg bag. Sweet potatoes remained at N55,000 per 100kg bag. Irish potatoes held at N80,000 per 50kg bag. Dry-season onions remained at N95,000 per 70kg bag. Hybrid tomatoes also stayed at N35,000 per 25kg crate.
Maize adds to the upward pressure
Dried white maize increased from N35,000 to N38,000 per 100kg bag, an increase of N3,000 or approximately 8.6 per cent.
On a kilogramme basis, the price rose from N350 to N380.
The movement is smaller in percentage terms than the increases in ordinary tomatoes and wet-season onions, but maize occupies a different position in the food economy.
It is used not only for direct household consumption but also in food processing and livestock feed, giving changes in its price potential implications beyond the fresh-produce market.
Unlike tomatoes, peppers and other highly perishable vegetables, dried maize can be stored for longer periods under suitable conditions. This gives traders and commercial users more flexibility in managing inventory.
Nevertheless, an 8.6 per cent increase over the comparison period adds another cost to businesses dependent on agricultural commodities.
Potatoes remain expensive despite price stability
Irish potatoes were unchanged at N80,000 per 50kg bag, making them one of the highest-priced commodities in the basket even though their price did not change during the week.
At N1,600 per kilogramme, the Friday quotation is higher on a unit-weight basis than dry-season onions at approximately N1,357 per kilogram.
Sweet potatoes, by contrast, remained at N55,000 per 100kg, or about N550 per kilogramme.
What the five-day comparison tells the market
The most striking feature of the week is not simply that the aggregate basket increased by N8,000. It is that the market moved in several directions at once.
The 14 commodities showed a largely stable but mixed price pattern, with four recording increases, three declining and seven remaining unchanged. Ordinary tomatoes, tatashe, wet-season onions and dried white maize posted gains, while atarugu, cabbage and carrots recorded declines. Hybrid tomatoes, shombo, okro, cucumber, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes and dry-season onions were unchanged.
The largest percentage increases were recorded by ordinary tomatoes, tatashe and wet-season onions, each rising 16.7 per cent.
Atarugu registered the largest percentage decline, falling 14.3 per cent, while cabbage and carrots each declined by 12.5 per cent.
Tatashe rose from N30,000 to N35,000 per 25kg bag, a N5,000 increase or 16.7 per cent.
Seasonality and logistics remain key variables
The price movements also underline the importance of seasonality in Nigeria’s agricultural markets.
Fresh produce is particularly sensitive to harvest cycles, weather conditions, transportation and post-harvest losses. Even when production is adequate, inefficiencies between farms and markets can affect the quantity available for sale and the price paid by traders.
Onions provide a useful example. The dry-season variety remained at N95,000, while wet-season onions increased from N60,000 to N70,000.
However, price declines should not necessarily be interpreted as a return to cheap food.
Cabbage falling from N40,000 to N35,000 is a 12.5 per cent weekly decline, but N35,000 remains a substantial wholesale outlay for a 30kg bag.
Likewise, atarugu falling to N30,000 still represents N1,500 per kilogramme.
The prices of ordinary tomatoes, wet-season onions and tatashe each rose 16.7 per cent. Atarugu moved in the opposite direction, falling 14.3 per cent, while cabbage and carrots declined by 12.5 per cent apiece.
The result is a market characterised by dispersion rather than a uniform inflationary trend. Some ingredients are becoming significantly more expensive, some are getting cheaper and others are holding their ground.
