Indications have emerged that some traders in Makurdi have resorted to hoarding essential food items and goods over the rising inflation thereby increasing the food crisis and its attendant price increases.
Jerrymusa.com reports that it was discovered that people who were involved in the activity were doing so to protect their capital from the increasing rate of inflation.
Unstable Exchange Rate Affect Food Price
Buyers were heard openly complaining about certain vendors of rice, vegetable oil, noodles, and other pastries in the well-known Wurukum and Wadata markets in Makurdi.
These vendors claimed that they were holding out for price increases rather than selling to eager customers.
Roadside bean cake (akara) vendor Mrs Janet Ijukwa of the well-known Wadata market claimed she was taken back when she entered one of the stores where she purchased vegetable oil for her enterprise.
“I asked for the oil that I saw at the shop, but the attendant told me to wait,” she claimed. “said she wouldn’t sell unless her mistress gave her the okay to do so.
“The girl informed me that they were instructed to hold off on selling until there was a price hike when I insisted.
I found it incomprehensible that they were acting in that way, given that everyone is suffering as a result.” Traders were also observed at the Wurukum market, determining how much may be sold at a time.
Certain purchasers were informed that the prices were constantly fluctuating and becoming more expensive every hour and that selling their goods without being able to purchase new ones or restock them would be financially disastrous.
According to her story, “a woman going by the name Mama Felix choked back tears as she said.”
“To my surprise, my customer told me that he would not sell to me because prices of goods are changing every hour,” the speaker said, referring to the noddle she cooked for sale in her area.
“When I asked him when he would sell to me, he answered me straightforwardly that it would be when they realised prices were steady.
“I spotted creations of eggs at another store where I had purchased creations of eggs yesterday. I went back to obtain more, but the trader turned down the seller, stating that the price might change tomorrow.
“It is a really sad situation that they are causing prices to rise without realising it by refusing to sell. As the egg vendor informed me, the sum he paid for 100 creations in a single day had abruptly increased by about 15%.
“He claims that the current situation is that you will end up paying more for the same things if you purchase them in the morning and then return in the evening. That is the depressing trend in our marketplaces, and the average person is hurt by it.
“Additionally, Mr James Terhemba, a public servant and father of four, bemoaned the nation’s hyperinflation and expressed regret over his incapacity to buy all the goods he wished to buy for his kids.”
He claims, “I went shopping yesterday, and I forgot to buy some of the things I planned to buy for my kids. take to school every day, and when I returned to the market, I saw that the pricing had changed.”
“When I saw the items I desired in their stores, some of the merchants refused to sell them and said they were out of stock. That is the situation we currently find ourselves in.”