Seventeen days into 2025, it has ushered in a bit of hope as the prices of some food items have nosedived in Kaduna State.
Checks by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) showed that the prices of grains and other staple food items were steadily coming down in markets across the state, against the skyrocketed prices in 2024.
Further checks by NAN Correspondents in Kaduna showed that the prices of food items like rice, beans, yams, garri and noodles had been reduced even though not much.
At the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Market, Kaduna’s central market, a 50kg bag of foreign rice, which was sold for about N125,000-130,000 before was now being sold for between N120,000 and N123,000.
Also, yams, which were in some weeks in 2024 sold for N7,000 per tuber and N28,000 for a set of five, now sells from N5000 to N6,000 and N2,500 of medium ones by those who sell on bonanza.
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A local measure of eight cups of beans which was initially selling for between N3,000 to N3,500, now costs N2,500, while a measure of garri, previously being sold for between N1,400 and N1,500 now costs N1,200.
A carton of Indomie noodles previously sold at N7,700 now sells at N7,500.
Some consumers, who spoke to NAN in separate interviews said they hoped that the prices of food items would continue to crash.
Hafsat Muhammad said she now buys a local measure of rice at N2,100 against its initial price of N2,400, adding that a local measure of corn which cost N1200 before now goes for N900.
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Similarly, Hajiya Ummi Shuaibu, a business woman, said she bought bags of maize immediately after the harvest to resell after some months but her plans changed since the prices of food items began to come down.
” I was expecting the prices to go up like last year but they didn’t ; so I have to bring out my stock in order not to run on a loss.
” A bag of corn that used to be N60,000 is now around N50,000 to N55,000, that is why I must sell it off as soon as possible, “she said. (NAN)