By David Onwuchekwa
Across many towns and cities in Nigeria, particularly in the South-East, it has become normal to see petty traders travel deep into rural communities to buy fruits and other food items for resale.
In many cases, villagers also bring their produce directly to urban markets. This is a legitimate and long-established practice, guided naturally by the forces of demand and supply.
However, what is troubling, and increasingly responsible for the sharp rise in food prices, is the unhealthy manipulation of prices by some middle-level traders who buy from rural markets.
A recent Nijasun.com investigation uncovered a pattern of sharp practices that distort the market and unfairly shift the burden to final consumers.
In many rural markets, when a buyer approaches a seller to price bananas, plantain, or other common items, another trader secretly positions herself behind the buyer.
Through finger signs and coded gestures, she signals to the seller that she would pay far more than the ongoing negotiation.
Emboldened by this non-verbal communication, the seller insists on an inflated price. Once the genuine buyer leaves in frustration, the signaling trader returns to purchase at a still-inflated rate, thereby setting an artificial market price that every other trader imitates.
This scheme, subtle yet widespread, fuels unnecessary price hikes on commodities that should ordinarily be affordable, especially since they are sourced directly from local farms. It undermines the spirit of free-market exchange and punishes ordinary families struggling with the rising cost of living.
Why should such practices persist?
Why manipulate prices in Igbo communities where these products are naturally abundant?
Why create artificial scarcity or inflated value for items grown in our own backyards?
We urge petty traders and local farmers involved in these acts to retrace their steps. Supernormal profit should not come at the expense of human welfare.
At a time when government is working to stabilize the economy and curb inflation, every stakeholder has a role to play. Allowing prices to adjust naturally will benefit not just consumers but the broader economy.
When we think collectively about lowering prices, and act with conscience, the market will respond. Food must not become a luxury in a land that produces it in abundance.
