+Tomatoes: Why it’s Out of Reach
Why You Pay More for Tomatoes
Nigeria has recorded the highest rise in the price of tomatoes in 2024 compared to previous years
The galloping price hikes make the staple food item increasingly unaffordable, exposing families and their children to the risks of malnutrition.
In the first 4 months of 2024, it increased from N845 per kilogram this January to N1,123 in April. This N278 increase indicates a 32% price increase within four months.
Tomatoes are a key vegetable crop, grown and consumed in significant quantities locally and globally.
Nigerian homes typically use tomatoes for stews and soups, and some consider them essential ingredients.
In the first four months of 2024, the prices of tomatoes increased compared with the same period three years ago.
Tomatoes: Why it’s Out of Reach
Several factors could account for 2024’s rise in tomato prices;
These include supply chain disruptions brought on by trade barriers, natural disasters, crop infestation, and geopolitical conflicts.
The Kano State Chairman of the Tomato Out Growers Association of Nigeria (TOGAN), Sani Danladi, revealed in an interview with Premium Times that the main cause of the recent spike in tomato prices in Nigeria is Tuta absoluta, one of the most damaging pests that affect tomato crops.
In addition to this, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, attributed the country’s shortage and high costs of tomatoes to another serious crop infestation known as “Tomato Ebola” or “Tomato Leaf Miner.”
The Tuta absoluta epidemic initially appeared in Nigeria in 2016, when tomatoes were also scarce in Nigeria’s markets.