The Nigerian government has blamed the current high price of tomatoes in the country on crop disease, saying it has sent experts to the affected region.
The price of tomatoes, a key ingredient for stew, which is popular in Nigeria, surged to 550% to N150,000 per basket on Tuesday. The commodity sold around N20,000 a year ago.
Nigerians already grappling with the worst cost-of-living crisis in recent history, have lamented the high cost of tomatoes in particular.
Annual food inflation in April reached 40.5% — the highest in 28 years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Traders attribute the spike to seasonal supply and price fluctuations, a reality observed in past years. But the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, blamed the high price of crop infestation.
Responding to a Nigerian complaining about the price of tomato on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Mr Kyari said major price hike occurred because a “significant number” of Nigeria’s tomato farms were affected by severe infestation of “tomato ebola or tomato leaf miner.”
“This has drastically reduced the availability of tomatoes and contributed to rising costs,” the minister said.
He said his ministry was taking “immediate action” to combat this issue. “We are deploying agricultural experts to affected areas to contain and eliminate the infestation,” the minister said.
He said the ministry was also supporting farmers with the resources and guidance to recover their crops as quickly as possible.
“We understand the impact this has on your daily lives and are working tirelessly to resolve the situation and restore the supply of affordable tomatoes,” he said.
High Prices
The margin of increase in the price of tomato is an example of how unprecedented inflation has battered Nigerians in the last year, eroding savings and income.
Inflation worsened after the government removed petrol subsidy and devalued the naira without policies to cushion their impact on citizens.
Any impact of infestation on tomatoes prices only adds to the inflationary pressures that already impacted consumers since last year.
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