WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Despite a welcome, albeit slight, easing of prices for major staple foods like rice, vegetable oil, onion, tomato, and wheat meal, Lagos markets continue to offer a mixed experience for shoppers this month. While the drop in prices of essential food items has provided some relief, households are now contending with rising costs of other commodities like pepper, frozen foods, egusi, and ogbono (bush mango seeds). The latest monthly survey by the Naijaonpoint research team for March 2025 reveals a market marked by volatility, where reductions in certain food categories are being counterbalanced by hikes in others, leaving consumers to navigate a highly unpredictable pricing landscape. The latest market price survey reported in this article is a result of a physical market survey conducted by Naijaonpoint in four markets in Lagos – Mushin, Oyingbo, Mile 12, and Daleko. The survey reflects a complex pricing environment where consumers are experiencing both relief and strain simultaneously. This uneven pricing pattern is typical of Nigeria’s food supply chain, where factors like seasonality, fuel prices, transportation logistics, and regional harvest yields all converge to create volatile price points. On the flip side, some food items such as 5ltrs of palm oil and vegetables, a big bag of dry onions, 50kg of foreign and local rice, 1kg of Honeywell wheatmeal, and a big basket of tomatoes recorded price declines. However, prices of some essential goods remained relatively stable, experiencing only marginal fluctuations. The market survey this month at Mushin, Mile 12, Daleko, and Oyingbo, Lagos’ key food hubs, reveals a catch between moderate relief and persistent challenges. A trader, Mrs. Amaka at Mushin market, shared, “The drop in rice and oil prices is a relief, but the hike in egusi and ogbono is frustrating. It’s like balancing a scale that never stays even.” Meanwhile, Mr. Sodiq, a trader at Mile 12, explained, “The price of pepper went up because of supply issues from the North due to transportation costs and weather. But tomatoes dropped as farmers had a bumper harvest this season.” Frozen food seller, Ms Adelani, at Daleko noted that the increased price is being driven by import complications and volatile currency exchange.
Market Price: Pepper up by 100%, Egusi leaped amidst mixed market signal in Lagos
