Abuja, May 24, 2026 — Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alongside food vendors and small business owners, have raised concerns over the persistent increase in the prices of vegetables and other essential food items, saying it is making household feeding and business operations increasingly difficult.
Many of the respondents who spoke in Abuja said the steady rise in food costs has forced them to adjust their spending habits and business strategies in order to cope with the situation.
A restaurant owner, Mrs. Mary Augustine, said the prices of key ingredients such as tomatoes, pepper, and leafy vegetables have surged sharply in recent months.
According to her, a large basket of tomatoes that previously sold for between N45,000 and N48,000 now goes for about N85,000 to N90,000, while a 50kg bag of pepper has risen from about N20,000–N30,000 to as high as N120,000–N150,000.
She explained that the continuous increase has forced many food vendors to either raise meal prices or reduce portion sizes.
“We use vegetables every day for soups, stew and salads, but the prices keep rising almost weekly. Sometimes, we spend more than double what we used to spend in the market, yet customers expect prices and portions to remain the same,” she said.
Augustine added that she now buys in bulk directly from farmers and stores produce to reduce frequent market visits and manage costs.
Another food vendor, Mrs. Fatima Muhammad, said the rising cost of tomatoes, tatashe, shombo, and pepper has significantly affected how she prepares meals.
She noted that she has reduced her reliance on tomatoes and now adjusts recipes to cope with the high prices of ingredients.
“Whenever I cook, I used to combine tomatoes, tatashe, shombo and pepper, but I’ve had to change my cooking style because of the price increases.
“I now buy smaller quantities of tatashe and depend more on shombo, though it is also expensive. Pepper is even harder to afford in large quantities,” she said.
Muhammad added that many vendors now resort to packaged tomato pastes and sachet pepper mixes as cheaper alternatives to fresh ingredients.
She advised business owners to carefully manage pricing strategies in order to retain customers and sustain their businesses.
A caterer, Mrs. Lateefat Yusuf, also said she has been forced to adjust her operations due to the rising cost of cooking ingredients.
She explained that she now relies more on processed alternatives such as tomato paste, as market prices for fresh vegetables continue to rise.
“The money I used to spend in the market can no longer buy half of what it used to. Sometimes, I go with double or triple the amount just to get enough ingredients,” she said.
An eatery operator, Mr. Isah Sagir, attributed the price hike to transportation costs, post-harvest losses, and supply challenges.
He said many small food businesses are struggling to balance affordability with profitability.
“If we increase prices too much, customers will stop coming. But if we keep them low, we may not survive,” he said, adding that operators now focus more on minimizing waste.
Some residents also expressed worry over the impact of rising food costs on their daily meals.
A housewife, Maman Zainab, said she now depends more on dried vegetables and cooking pastes due to the high cost of fresh produce.
A civil servant, Mr. Benjamin Amos, said he spends more on eating out since vendors have increased their prices, and called on government to support farmers and improve transport systems to reduce food costs.
A vegetable farmer, Dr. Abdulwahab Ishaq, blamed insecurity in farming areas, climate challenges, and high logistics costs for the rising prices.
He urged authorities to provide better storage facilities, reduce post-harvest losses, and offer stronger support to farmers to stabilise food supply and prices across the country.