The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has blamed the rising food prices in the country on market cartels and transportation challenges.
The acting executive vice chairman of the commission Adamu Abdullahi made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday at a hybrid engagement with Civil Society and Consumer Protection Groups in Abuja with the theme: “Collaboration for Competition and Consumer Protection.”
He said: “FCCPC conducted a market survey and we also did our market study and found out the current rise in food prices are due to some factors. One is transportation of food items from one point to another. For instance, if you carry a trailer load of food items from Yobe to Port Harcourt, you have to keep at least N100,000 for checkpoint payments and other task forces along the roads and also the bad roads are contributing.
“Also, we discovered that every market has associations that are now turning into cartels determining prices of food items and also deciding who sells in the market. So, if you as a farmer bring your yam from Benue State you won’t be allowed to enter a market in Abuja to sell and they also meet to fix prices.”
On what the FCCPC is doing, the acting EVC noted that the commission has embarked on advocacy meetings with leaders and management of major markets to educate them on what the law says, adding, “Shockingly, they didn’t even know that what they were doing was wrong.”
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