Farmers and traders who sell food items and perishable agricultural produce in Nigeria’s have lamented the losses they incurred, estimated to be in the region of several millions of naira as customers face difficulties accessing cash to buy food items, due to the scarcity of both the old and new naira notes.
The President of the National Palm Oil Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), Alphonsus Inyang, who lamented the development, said farmers are forced to sell at ridiculous prices, in order not to run at a total loss and also to get money to restock.
Inyang noted that the naira redesign policy is a huge problem to farmers and that they don’t know how long it will last for them to stop losing money by taken their produce to the market to exchange for lesser money or for food items like garri, rice, and other things as determined by market forces.
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“Three weeks ago, a 20-litre gallon of palm oil sold for between N28, 000 to N30, 000. Currently, the same size has dropped to between N11, 000 to N14, 000 and farmers are begging people to buy, this naira redesign policy has done more harm than good for farmers.” Inyang lamented.
Reacting to the development, the Chief Executive Officer of Green Sahara Farms, Jos, Plateau State, Suleiman Dikwa, pointed out that the estimated loss at the local level, taking the average market revenue per market in the northeast runs into about N400m for Potiskum, Yobe State grain market for beans, maize and millet.
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“Initially, prices of commodities dropped due to lack of cash, but in the last two weeks, two modal prices occurred. For instance, if a bag of beans is N16, 000 per bag, cash transfer of N20, 000 will be made. This has further distorted the market because the real price is not reflected, we now have transfer prices and POS prices.” Dikwa said.
