Food vendors across the Federal Capital Territory are struggling as vegetable prices continue climbing. Many say the surge is making it nearly impossible to keep businesses afloat.
Residents and traders spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja about their mounting concerns. They described how rising costs are squeezing both household budgets and profit margins.
Mary Augustine runs a restaurant in the FCT. She's watching her input costs explode week after week.
Tomato prices have nearly doubled in recent months, Augustine explained. A large basket that once sold for N45,000 to N48,000 now costs between N85,000 and N90,000.
Pepper has seen even sharper increases. A 50-kilogram bag jumped from N20,000-N30,000 to between N120,000 and N150,000.
"We use vegetables every day for cooking soups, stew and salads," Augustine told reporters. "But the prices keep increasing almost every week."p>
She's caught in a difficult position.
Customers still expect the same meals at the same prices, yet her costs have more than doubled.
Augustine's response has been strategic. She now buys vegetables directly from farmers in bulk and preserves them to reduce market visits.
Fellow vendor Fatima Muhammad faces similar pressures. She's had to completely rethink how she prepares meals.
Fresh tomatoes have become too expensive to use regularly in her kitchen. She's shifting toward cheaper alternatives like shombo while cutting back on other ingredients.
"Whenever I prepare food, I usually combine tomatoes, tatashe, shombo and pepper," Muhammad noted. "But the continuous increase in prices have made me change my cooking pattern."
Even onions—the cheapest vegetable available—come with their own challenges. Muhammad warns that excessive use without proper preservation causes spoilage, especially with Nigeria's electricity problems.
Many vendors are turning to packaged cooking pastes and sachet pepper mixes instead. These alternatives cost far less than fresh ingredients.
Muhammad believes small amounts of natural ingredients still produce good results when used wisely. But vendors must balance affordability with quality to survive.
She has a warning for other business owners. Constantly raising prices or shrinking portions will chase customers away permanently.
"Business owners need to adopt different strategies to cope with the current situation while maintaining customer loyalty," she advised. Protecting brand reputation matters as much as protecting profit margins.
Caterer Lateefat Yusuf faces identical challenges in her operations. Rising costs of tomatoes, pepper and tatashe have forced her hand.
Yusuf has turned to sachet tomato paste as her main solution. She's adjusted her entire business model around using cheaper substitutes.
