The price of tomato was at an all time high in May, with a basket of the red fruit selling for as high as N25, 000 to N40, 000 in some places.
The sudden skyrocket in price of tomato was caused by a pest, tuta absoluta (also known as tomatoc ebola) which, regrettably, caused a scarcity of the product and an attending increase in its price.
TheCable reports that the price of tomato has crashed to a sudden two months low as a basket of it now sells for N800 at the Line Dogo (Rail Line) tomatoes and vegetable market in Kaduna -one of the states worst hit by the pest. Other states in the northwest affected by the pest include: Jigawa, Katsina and Kano states.
Before the scarcity of tomato, a basket of it was sold for N800 to N1,200
Speaking on the sudden crash in price of the fruit, Abass Mai Tumatur, the chairman of the tomato sellers, told TheCable that it was “pleasant relief.”
“Tomato scarcity is nothing new, but it was made worse this year by the invasion of the moth.”
Tumatur noted that the pest usually grow during the dry season but cannot survive the rainy season.
“The rains coupled with the efforts of government have helped tremendously in making tomato available.”
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