Unable to bear the pain imposed by the relentless surge in food prices, some families and experts in the food industry on Sunday shared their experiences regarding its debilitating burden on Nigerian households and businesses alike.
Nigeria’s inflation rate increased from 33.95 per cent in May 2024 to 34.19 per cent in June 2024, revealed the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its recently issued June Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.40 per cent higher compared to June 2023, which recorded a rate of 22.79 per cent.
Modupe Alabi, a mother of five and a civil servant, said her family no longer ate three square meals daily and struggled to maintain a balanced diet.
Said she: “If I tell you that we were a family that could get up any time of the day and be sure that food is in the kitchen, you wouldn’t believe me. There was always something to eat, something to snack on.
“But now, our fridge is almost useless, and our gas rarely feels the pot nowadays. It’s been tough. The price of food in the market makes me depressed”.
Ann Obute, a mother of two, complained about the high cost of food and its impact on adequately caring for her children.
Lamented she: “When I go to the market to buy things for cooking, I shed tears because this is not how things used to be. Even if I carry N100,000 to the market, I don’t think I can buy something tangible for the family to eat for a month”.
Adeyanju Lasisi, a teacher and father of five, said his family now eats once daily to survive the harsh times. Living on a salary of N95,000, he ensures they eat one heavily balanced meal midday to cut expenses.
Explained he: “We can’t eat food for luxury at this time. So, we eat to survive, to fuel us to work. If things probably get better, we can move to eating more than once”.
Folakemi Bademosi, a cake maker in Lagos, decried low customer patronage in her business.
Cried she: “People see eating out as a luxury now. The rising cost of food prices has made food service expensive,” she said, noting increased customer complaints as if they were oblivious to the country’s situation”.
She expressed desire for the government to intervene to help the food industry and struggling households.
Prudence Ihieanacho, a food vendor, said they struggle to do their costing and budgeting.
Complained she: “Imagine if you had a client and the price of the food they ordered triples in less than three days. What will you do? It’s terrible”.
She narrated her experience of setbacks and how her customer base had dropped drastically due to price increases.
Added Ihieanacho: “Two weeks ago, I catered for an event for 400 people, and I didn’t make a profit because the cost of ingredients had risen significantly.
“Now, I can’t even tell clients to increase the money because I have given my quotation”.
