Some residents of Nsukka, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, have lamented the high cost of eggs, making it beyond their reach.
The residents expressed their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Nsukka while reacting to the present market price of a crate of eggs that goes for N5,000.
Mrs Stella Nduka, a housewife said for some time now her children have not been able to eat eggs because of their high cost.
“The present situation where one egg sells for N200 and a crate of eggs sells at N5,000 is worrisome.
“Before, I usually used eggs to cook noodles for my children but now I can’t afford it because of its high cost.
“My customer in Ogige Market Nsukka says the fault is not from the sellers as they sell according to how they buy from the poultry farms.
“My customer says presently he buys a crate at N4,500 from the poultry farms and sells a crate at N5,000,” she said.
Mr Jude Ugwuoke, who has a fast food joint at Aku Road, Nsukka decried the high cost of eggs, which he said had adversely affected his business.
“Before, I was preparing one packet of noodles with two eggs for my customers at N1,200 but because of the high cost of eggs, it is now N1,500.
“I am losing many customers because my customers are complaining that the N1,500 is too much as only a few now patronise me.
“Government should intervene before my business closes, by January this year, the cost of an egg crate was between N2000 and N2,200,” he said.
Mrs Juliet Onah, who sells eggs together with other food items in Ogige market Nsukka food section, said the sellers should not be blamed for the present hike in egg price as they sell according to how they bought the commodity.
“I buy eggs from poultry farms, I bought these eggs on Tuesday this week and I bought a crate at the price of N4,500 and resold at N5,000.
“You can see my gain is only N500 despite the transport I paid to go buy the eggs.
“In January this year, we sold an egg crate at N2,000 while the retailers sold one egg at N100, I don’t understand the type of inflation in this country,” she said.
A poultry farmer, Mr Ernest Ugwu attributed the high price of eggs to the high prices of chicken feeds.
Ugwu said that the only thing that would bring down the price of eggs was for the government to subsidise the ingredients used in producing feed.
“If a poultry farmer buys feed at a high price to grow the chickens that lay the eggs, he/she will sell the eggs to cover the production cost as well as make a little gain that will enable him/her to remain in business.
“No businessman or woman in the world will like to record losses rather to make a profit so as to remain in business,” Ugwu said.
Checks by The Telegraph in selected major areas of Ogun and Lagos states revealed an increase in prices.
Last month, a crate was sold for N3200 to N3600, but it now costs between N4000 and N4500.
Prices of rice, garri soar
Meanwhile, the prices of garri and rice have recorded more than 50 per cent increase in Enugu metropolis, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The NAN correspondent, who conducted a market survey on Thursday in Enugu, observed that prices of foodstuffs such as garri and rice have increased by 50 per cent in the metropolis.
The survey showed that a cup of garri, which sold for N150 in April, now goes for ₦250 while a five-litre paint bucket is sold for between N4,000 and N4,300
Similarly, the current price of a bag of garri is sold for ₦45,000 as against N₦30,000 in April.
At the Garki Market, Enugu, the price of a 50-kg bag of foreign rice rose from between ₦70,000 and N75,000 to between N95,000 and N100,000, depending on the brand.
NAN reports that a 50kg bag of local rice is sold for between ₦80,000 to ₦85,000 depending on the brand.
Mrs Gladis Ugwu, a garri seller at the New Market, said that the only way to reduce the high cost of garri would be by securing farmlands and stopping the exportation of the produce to other countries.
Ugwu said the exportation of the commodity had affected the availability of the produce in the country.
Mr Arinze Ozor, a rice seller at Ogbere Main Market, said that the high cost of rice in the country would persist if the government failed to act urgently to address food insecurity.
Ozor said that the traffic of buyers of foodstuffs in his shop had reduced since the prices of every item increased.
A buyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the high cost of living in the country to subsidy removal from petroleum products.
NAN
