By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Recently, there have been reports claiming a drastic reduction in prices of raw food items in the market. According to Nairametrics, mid-2025 indicates a reduction in the prices of some raw food items in Nigeria, particularly staples like maize, rice, and yam, following a period of high inflation. This decline is attributed to increased local supply from new harvests, government interventions including import duty waivers, and improved logistics, though some processed foods and specific items have shown slower price reductions.

Also, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recorded a marginal drop in overall inflation from 24.23% in March to 23.71% in April 2025, partly because of the falling prices of food and some commodities. Similarly, some news outlets like ThisDay newspaper, Daily Trust, and others noted significant reductions in prices of items like onions, pepper, yam, garri, and beans from the market analysis reports of experts. It’s a no-brainer that these reports are due to the increased agricultural outputs of the country. The country is evidently in its harvesting season of what farmers have cultivated. Hence, the temporary surplus of grains and vegetables is leading to price relief.

However, the reality of things seems different from the reports circulating about the reduction in food prices. Approaching restaurants or factories where some of these items are processed would give one a different experience from the reports being made. Why are there discrepancies between markets regarding the prices of these food items processed or not?

Experts Weighed In:

“Price rigidity could be one of the reasons for such a scenario,” said AbdulSalam Isiya, an economist.

Isiya revealed that it’s not always easy to have a balanced price tag for commodities like food items whenever there’s a price reduction because traders would always agitate to have their commodities in stock sold before applying the new price tag on newly purchased ones.

“For such a reason, you would see that not all markets would comply immediately with the reduction in prices. It will take time,” he said.

Mr. Isiya also noted that traders usually don’t shy away from expressing their rational instincts:

“We see how transportation fares don’t reflect price reduction but quickly adjust to the prevailing high cost whenever an increment in fuel price is announced. That’s how human beings are.”

He continued, “Social economists usually paint this category of people who prioritize their interest over the masses as ‘greedy animals.'”

“Nonetheless, this price reduction might fully materialize if the principle of the invisible hand, as postulated by Adam Smith, works perfectly.”

Furthermore, a marketing lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr. Junaidu Salih, said that it’s bound to happen that even after the reduction in prices of some food items, the expenses incurred during processing wouldn’t allow the price to reduce as some people are expecting:

“It’s believed in marketing that the working capital cost must be matched with commodities as they have undergone processes beyond what they were known for before their purchase from the market.”

“No trader would want to incur that loss. Since it takes a lot of combined efforts to bring a commodity to its finished stage, the cost of the efforts initiated must be compensated.”

He continued, “An entrepreneur is always driven by the ‘make more profit’ mentality. That’s why you see that prices of commodities quickly get traders’ attention to implement whenever they go up, rather than when they go down.”

Food Vendors Shared Their Experiences

Larai John, a food vendor at the Cook Village restaurant in Zaria, narrated that the price of food at the finished line of production is determined by several factors, excluding the price it’s sold for at the market when it’s still raw.

“You don’t expect me to exclude charging for the quality I make sure I give my food.”

She went as far as referencing a famous singer whose stage name is Flavour, when he mentioned in one of his lyrics that “better soup na money kill am.”

“That is why there is Buka and a restaurant. The amount you are charged depends on the quality of food you get,” Mrs. Larai posited.

Also, Mrs. Esther Auta, a raw food vendor at the Samaru Market in Zaria, argued that food items are bought from different places, and that conditions are attached to each of these places they purchase food items from:

“I might be selling rice that has stones inside it while my neighbor there might be selling the one without stones. You wouldn’t expect our prices to be the same. Definitely, hers would be costlier than mine.”

“And that is how restaurant owners who buy from us will also give different price tags,” she added.

Mrs. Auta also revealed that she always adds her transportation cost to the price of anything she buys before selling it to customers:

“Also, you don’t expect someone who bought his rice or beans from another state to have the same price tag as the one who bought his in Zaria here, maybe even a stone’s throw from his house.”