Despite Harvest, Maize, Yam, Rice Prices Skyrockets

Food prices in Taraba State are rising sharply, even as harvest season brings in crops across the region.

According to findings, the surge in prices is largely due to high fuel costs and increased demand for key farm products like maize, groundnut, paddy rice, raw cassava, yam, and sesame seed.

Daily Trust reports that grain markets throughout the state are seeing constant price hikes.

Major grain hubs, including Iware, Mutum Biyu, Garba Chede, and Maihula, have recorded significant increases in farm produce prices.

For example, the price of a 100 kg bag of maize recently rose from ₦34,000 to ₦57,000 within two weeks, while a similar bag of paddy rice jumped from ₦37,000 to ₦49,000.

The demand for raw cassava, used by various industries, has caused its price to soar fivefold between September and November.

A trailer load of raw cassava, which sold for ₦8 million last year, now costs ₦17 million.

Nuhu Maibuhu, a trader at Garba Chede market, observed, “Middlemen are coming from across the country to buy in bulk daily and weekly, which is why prices keep rising.”