Some residents of Benin City say they are unable to make purchases in the markets less than 48 hours to Christmas due to lack of money.
They said high cost of goods and services and lack of money in circulation were some of the factors responsible for their plight.
A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), at Ikpoba Hill and Oba Markets revealed that there was general hike in prices of food stuff amid low demand.
At Ikpoba Hill Market, price of 50 kg rice ranged from N21,000 to N24,000, Four litres of groundnut oil and red oil sold for N4,000 while a carton of fish was sold for between N20,000 and N23,000.
One hundred kg of brown beans, white beans and 1.5 kg of gari sold for N25,000, N24,000 and N700 respectively.
Also, a carton of turkey and chicken sold for N13,000 and N12,000 respectively while a live chicken went for between N4,000 and N6,000.
However, the price of basket of tomatoes moved from N3,000 to N8, 000 while a small measure of Ogbono went up from N500 to N600.
Celestina Osasu, a trader, said they were finding it difficult to sell their commodities.
She recalled making gains from sales in 2015 and that “with the present economic recession, we can’t even sell at the cost prices.
“For instance, I bought a pair of shoes at Onitsha Market for N1, 500 in 2015 but bought the same type of shoes for N2, 500 in 2016
“Customers have been begging me to sell the shoe for between N1,800 to N2,200; not even up to the cost of the shoes.
“The customers are complaining of lack of money to buy items with their high costs”, she said.
A customer at Ikpoba Hill Market, Obehi Odigie, said the prices of food items were cheaper last year compared to this year.
She said residents were groaning under the current recession, urging the Federal Government to emplace palliative measures to cushion its effects.
