Consumers consider options as tomato price surges

Consumers across the country are currently grappling with tomato shortage, which has affected its price when available. The shortage has been linked to declining supply from major producing areas in northern Nigeria as the harvest season winds down. The situation is worsened by rising transportation costs as fuel prices have surged due to the conflict […]

Consumers across the country are currently grappling with tomato shortage, which has affected its price when available.

The shortage has been linked to declining supply from major producing areas in northern Nigeria as the harvest season winds down.

The situation is worsened by rising transportation costs as fuel prices have surged due to the conflict in the Middle East, driving up expenses.

Alhaji Abdullahi Alhassan Ringim is the national president of Tomato Out grower Association of Nigeria (TOGAN). He explained why Nigeria continues to witness this situation. 

“One, you have to realise that tomatoes are a seasonal crop. It has two seasons. There is a rain-fed tomato and there is an irrigation tomato. The rain-fed tomato is usually between July, August, and September.  The irrigation tomato is between January, February, March and April. These are the times when tomatoes are available. 

“But between April, May and June normally there will be scarcity because that is off season,” he said.

He told Weekend Trust that the failure of the federal government to fully implement the national tomato policy, which would have forced many packaging companies to go into backward integration, is the reason for theproblem. 

He argued that a situation where these companies merely establish packaging lines in Lagos and Sango Ota and import tomato paste from China,  India, America, Italy without value addition to tomato farmers  in the long run discourages development of the domestic industry. 

However, the Chairman, National Association of Tomato Growers and Processors and Marketers of Nigeria NATPAN, Kano Sani Danladi Yakadawari said the severe weather conditions with excessive heat are not conducive for tomatoes to grow in an open field.

He said even farmers with greenhouses must be equipped with heat extractors to be able to grow tomatoes under the prevailing extreme weather conditions.

“Every year between April and July tomato production is low because of the heat. Tomatoes do not thrive in hot weather and excessive water.

“What is happening is that the dry season cultivated tomato is gradually ending and farmers are getting set for Wet season cultivation, so scarcity is manifesting because only areas with moisture continue to grow tomato though not in a large quantity.

“In essence it is the excessive heat that is responsible for the shortage and the surge in price. It’s not a question of improved variety. Tomatoes cannot grow where there is excessive heat nor does it like too much water,” Yadakwari explained.

Another farmer in Katsina State, Shamsu Dutsi agreed that the scarcity and high cost of tomato is linked with the extreme heat experienced in the months of March to May, which he said had increased pest infestation and reduced yields. 

 

Current market outlook 

Currently a basket costs as high as 70,000 at the Yankaba market in Kano State, a major production area.

Random checks by our correspondent show that a plastic crate of tomato goes for N30,000 while a small basket and a bowl each cost N6,500 and N3,000 respectively.

Abdul Rashid Shuaibu, a perishable items seller said supplying other parts of Nigeria with tomato and other perishable items has pushed the price to about N70,000 per basket and N30,000 per crate or smaller basket.

He however, said that the price has dropped to about 27,000 for the crate in Kano due to improved supply of the crop in markets in Lagos and other places.

“I no longer buy many tomatoes because of the price surge. It has reached N70000 here in Kano but I learnt the price is reducing because they no longer transport it to Lagos and other places.

Shuaibu said the surge isn’t unusual because every year it’s the same scenario and therefore not surprising to him.

Another tomato dealer at Tamburawa market Ibrahim Gundutse said most of the tomatoes in the market are brought  in from neighbouring towns like Zaria and Makarfi  where the weather is considered better.

He said a crate of UTC tomato is sold between N25,000 and N30,000 though the not-so-good ones can be sold below N20,000.

Yushau Karaye, another perishable item seller, said he buys a crate of tomato at Yankaba market for about N25,000 and pays about N30,00 to transport it to the point of sale where he sells a bowl for N3,000.

Some of the marketers also noted that price instability of the commodity pushed some farmers away from cultivating tomatoes this year as earlier in the season, many of them suffered heavy losses because of tomato glut and market price crashes, with baskets selling below production cost.

 

Consumers speak on options 

Hudu Hamza, who runs a local restaurant, said he mixes fresh with dried tomatoes to maintain the tastes of his dishes due to the surging price of fresh tomatoes.

“Instead of using fresh tomatoes to prepare sauce or stew, I mix dried tomatoes with fresh ones and then add tomato paste so that the taste will satisfy our customers. Every year we experience the same shortage and rising prices of tomato but people must eat with or without tomato,”   Hamza noted.

Muhammad Suji, a civil servant, said he only buys Tomato paste with onions which he said is cheaper for his wife to prepare meals while noting that the current price isn’t affordable to people like him.

Another consumer Abu Ammar said  currently his wife prepares Jollof rice and local soups with fresh  Tomato worth N1000 mixed with tomato paste weekly pending when price reduces and supply increases.

Similarly, in Katsina, our correspondent reports that tomato consumers are adopting various coping measures as scarcity and rising prices continue to affect tomato consumption.

For Mrs Rebecca Ogah, a food vendor, among the measures being taken by consumers are substituting fresh tomatoes with pepper, onions, or dried tomato powder locally preserved.

Another consumer, Malama Binta Dauda said many households have turned to cheaper alternatives such as canned tomato pastes or dried tomatoes.

She added that due to the high cost many households have begun forming joint purchases amongst neighbours and relatives to cut costs as well as adjusting meal choices to reduce dependence on tomato-based dishes.

Some consumers and traders also note that many households now visit markets in the evenings to bargain for cheaper, softer tomatoes that sellers eagerly want to sell off to prevent loss or having the go completely bad.

In Abuja, many consumers told Weekend Trust that N1000 worth of tomato is less than 9 pieces.

“If you have a family of five, what can you cook with that?” Aisha Abdullahi asked? Adding that “many families will either use tomato paste or dried tomato for the forthcoming Sallah celebration.”

Another consumer, Mrs Rita Joshua said making stew with fresh tomatoes, which she notes tastes better is  off the menufor now in her home because of the cost.

“One needs like N10,000 worth of tomatoes to make stew that will last two days. Many of us can’t afford that, she said.

 

Farmers coping strategies 

A tomato farmer Ibrahim Bunkure said farmers are devising ways of growing tomatoes even in the extreme weather condition by constantly watering the farm, especially after the first drop of rainfall.

“ Usually the tomato planted during the dry season would naturally die with the drop of the first rainfall which generates heat around the crop but through immediate and constant watering of the crop after the first rain, the tomato can survive the heat and mature.

The safest thing to do is to harvest your tomato before the rainy season starts and begin preparations for the wet season farming,” he stated.

 

Disease burden 

Tuta Absoluta also known as ‘tomato Ebola’ is a devastating pest often attacking tomato farms causing significant destruction of the crop thereby creating scarcity which ultimately triggers price surge.

According to a Katsina based tomato farmer Malam Zahradxen Funtua, Katsina is one of northern Nigeria’s major tomato-producing states, which has faced many challenges.

According to him during dry season farmers in the state encounter problems such as severe pest attacks, especially the destructive tomato pest known as Tuta absoluta (“tomato Ebola”), which damages leaves and fruits and can wipe out farms adding that the state is  one  of the northern states heavily affected causing huge yield loss.

On Thursday, the Kano State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources raised concerns over the outbreak of Tuta Absoluta pest which it said is currently affecting tomato farms across several local government areas in the State.

Chairman of the committee and member representing Karaye Constituency, Ahmed Ibrahim said the committee was mandated to investigate the infestation following the spread of the pest in Bagwai and Shanono areas.

Ibrahim stated that findings from the committee’s assessment revealed that the outbreak had spread to major tomato-producing local government areas, including Bagwai, Shanono, Rogo, Tofa, Bunkure, Kura, Garun Malam, Rano and Kibiya, as well as parts of Tudun Wada and Dawakin Kudu.

 

The way out

Alhaji Abdullahi Alhassan Ringim, the TOGAN president said the national tomato policy is an excellent framework that will ensure  tomato availability all year round adding that they “should religiously implement the tomato policy.”

“That will encourage the backward integration of all those so-called tomato packaging companies. Because if you technically not ban the importation of tomato but make it expensive for them to import, it will be profitable for them to process the local tomato, many companies will start backward integration,” he said.

He added that their ability to process locally made tomatoes will first and foremost reduce the tomato glut at the time of peak harvest. This will allow them to release this tomato during off season and the cost will not escalate dramatically.

The TOGAN president said the country should encourage the use of the local seeds produced by the research institutions arguing that “if you bring bio seeds, it means that over time you will destroy your local variety seeds. And when that is destroyed, it will reach the point when the local variety seed will no longer be in existence. Then you become perpetually dependent on the importation of seeds.

According to an agricultural economist Adam Ibraheem, it’s obvious with the trend experienced this year, scarcity and price hikes are inevitable due to reduction in production in many northern areas. 

He explained that poor storage and processing facilities are some of the major issues that have affected tomato production for decades, because lack of cold rooms, unstable electricity and weak tomato-processing industries lead to losses as tomatoes spoil quickly after harvest. 

He added that though the Federal Government and agricultural agencies are reportedly introducing improved tomato varieties and pest-control programmes to reduce the damage, there’s a need for strong policies that will address issues related to tomato paste importation and effective storage and processing measures.