Business
Protest: Prices of perishable food items crash in Lagos
Protest: Prices of perishable food items crash in Lagos
Some perishable food prices have crashed by about 50 per cent as a result of the ongoing nationwide hunger protest, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest, which stated on Thursday, is planned to end on August 10.
It is aimed at calling the Federal Government’s attention to the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
Some traders and buyers at Ile-epo food market at Alimosho/Agege area of Lagos State, confirmed the development in separate interviews with NAN.
NAN also reports that local food markets across the area witnessed less patronage.
A tomato trader at Ile-Epo market, Agege area, Mr Rabiu Aliu, said the price of some perishable food items ranging from tomatoes to chilli pepper and others dropped to minimise loss due to low patronage caused by the protest.
“A 50kg basket of tomatoes now sells for between N40,000 and N50,000 as against N80,000 to N100,000 two weeks ago.
“A 25kg basket sells between N18,000 and N19,000 as against N30,000 to N40,000 two weeks ago.
“We have no choice but to sell off because few customers are available to buy the produce. The purchasing power is actually low at the moment,” Aliu said.
Also speaking, another trader, Mrs Mukit Afolabi, said that the price of perishable items had dropped in the market as a result of the hunger protest.
“On Day 1 of the protest, tomatoes were even cheaper because there was no one to buy.
“I bought a 5kg basket of tomatoes at N4,000. As of two weeks ago, it sold for N12,000. So, I think the protest is contributing to the drop in price.
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“However, rodo (scotch bonnet pepper) is still expensive. On Monday, a bag was sold for N40,000 but today, a bag sells at N84,000 because it is currently unavailable in the market.
“No produce truck has delivered any pepper since Wednesday, the day before the protest began,” Afolabi said.
A foodstuff trader, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, also affirmed a drop in the price of rice and beans.
“A 50kg bag of short grain rice now sells for N73,000 as against N83,000 last month. While the long grain sells for N78,000 per 50 kg bag as against N87,000 to N88,000.
“A paint bucket of honey beans now sells for N10,000 as against N12,000 it was sold in July.
Other varieties now sell for between N8,000 and N9,000,” he said.
NAN reports that other items such as groundnut oil and palm oil recorded tremendous increase in price.
Mrs Hope Osagie, a trader of the produce at the Agege Market, said that the price of the produce had increased in the last couple of days.
“A 25 litre of groundnut oil now sells at N60,000 as against N38,000 that was sold a month ago.
“While a 25 litre of palm oil now sells for N36,000 as against N27,000 in July.
“We really do not know the reason for the hike but generally food stuff prices have been rather unpredictable,” Osagie said.
However, a buyer, Mrs Anuoluwa Olayinka, expressed excitement over the drop in the price of tomatoes and other perishable items.
“I bought as much as I could afford as I saw the price had dropped.
“Well, there are just few people in the market, which is quite unusual for a Friday. So, I guess traders just want to sell off to minimise loss,” Olayinka said.
Another buyer, Mrs Ada Uzor, said that “foodstuff prices are unpredictable but I think the protest contributed to the slight price drop of some items.”
(NAN)
Business
Nigeria’s foreign reserves in marginal increase, now $40.88bn
Nigeria’s foreign reserves in marginal increase, now $40.88bn
Nigeria’s foreign reserves rose to $40.88 billion as of November 21, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has said.
Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday at a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee’s 298th meeting in Abuja.
He said the external reserves grew from $40.06 billion at the end of October to $40.88 billion in November.
The amount represents an increase of $82 million or 2.05 per cent in 21 days.
“The external reserves rose marginally to 40.88 billion as of 21 November 2024, from 40.06 billion at the end of October 2024, available to finance 17 months of imports,” he said.
However, from the apex bank’s website, the increase in Nigeria’s foreign reserves showed $40.27 billion on November 22.
Cardoso also said, “The process of getting us where we are in terms of reserves has been a long one”.
“It is a clear indication that the policies we have put in place are certainly yielding fruits,” he added.
“However, and it’s very important to make a distinction here and to reiterate the fact that reserves are there for a multiplicity of different purposes, not least of which is to create buffers in the event of unanticipated shocks.
“So they are not there to simply whittle away. They are there to be used to more or less defend yourself where that becomes necessary
“And when we talk about shocks that are not anticipated, I think we can see how the global economies are.”
Cardoso also said the bank would continue to intensify efforts to stabilise the currency and prices.
The CBN governor said, “The currency has been stable compared to what it was in June”.
But he said for the value of the country’s currency to be stable, there must be increased exports and diversification of the economy.
Cardoso said diaspora remittance had increased due to policies put in place.
He commended those in the diaspora for helping the country accomplish over $600 million in remittances.
Business
Naira rises to N1,755/$ in parallel market
Naira rises to N1,755/$ in parallel market
The Naira yesterday appreciated to N1,755 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,770 per dollar on Monday.
Similarly, the Naira appreciated to N1,659.44 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,659.44 per dollar from N1,675.62 per dollar on Monday, indicating N16.18 appreciation for the naira. The volume of dollars traded (turnover) increased by 219.5 percent to $425.98 million from $108.79 million traded on Monday.
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Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rate narrowed to N95.56 per dollar from N117.38 per dollar on Monday.
Naira rises to N1,755/$ in parallel market
Business
PH refinery to blend 1.4-million litre petrol daily – NNPC
PH refinery to blend 1.4-million litre petrol daily – NNPC
Rehabilitated old Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70 per cent of its installed capacity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) operates two refineries: the old refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) and a new refinery with an installed capacity of 150,000 bpsd.
The NNPCL in a statement on Tuesday, said it planned to increase the operation to 90 per cent of the refinery’s capacity.
“The Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) express heartfelt appreciation to Nigerians for their support and excitement over the safe and successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery,” the statement reads.
“This achievement marks a significant step forward after years of operational challenges and underperformance.
“We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products. For clarity, the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%.”
According to NNPC, the refinery has commenced production of daily outputs of straight-run petrol (naphtha), which is blended into 1.4 million litres of petrol.
The national oil company said the refinery has also started producing 900,000 litres of kerosene per day and 1.5 million litres per day of diesel.
The NNPC said 2.1 million litres daily volume of low-pour fuel oil (LPFO) would also be produced at the refinery, adding that additional volumes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be refined at the plant.
“It is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications,” NNPC said.
“Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes.”
Additionally, the NNPC said it has made substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt refinery, “which will begin operations soon without prior announcements”.
“We urge Nigerians to focus on the remarkable achievements being realized under the able and progressive leadership of President Bola Tinubu and to support efforts aimed at delivering more dividends to the nation,” the energy firm said.
According to the statement, malicious attacks on “clear progress” only undermine the “significant strides made by NNPC Ltd and the country”.
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