Nigerians opt for noodles as price of rice escalates

With the skyrocketing price of rice in the market, many Nigerians have opted to eat different kinds of noddles as alternative.


But this has also lead to a hike in the prices of noodles in the market. According to investigations by some reporters, the big ones - Hungryman has 24 parks in a carton while Belleful contains 16 packs. Superpack that sells for N2,400 a carton before is now N2,750 for one carton - are the most sought-after in most homes. This is just as one pack is enough for two adults. It is just between N150 and N170 per pack. One ‘derica’ or cup of rice is, however, N300 which is almost double that of one pack of Belleful.

A wholesaler of noodles at Old Ipaja Road in Agege, Funmi Olopade, said there had been a rise in the demand for various brands of the product generally.

She said: “I sell an average of four to five cartons a day, but in recent time, this has changed. There has been an increase. I now sell up to 15 cartons in one day because the retailers are rushing to buy the products. There has been an increase of over 20 per cent on all the products.

A bag of rice, which sells for between N10,000 and N11,500, is now being sold for between N22,000 and N23,500. The effect cuts across down the line in terms of sales including the cooked rice being sold by food vendors. It is no longer easy to enter a restaurant with N100 to eat rice.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had last week confirmed that Nigeria’s economy was in bad shape. She argued the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari was, however, not confused about the current situation. Various indices reflect how bad the situation is to the ordinary Nigerians, especially as it has become difficult for people to have three meals in their respective homes.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its second quarter report stated that the Consumer Price Index increased from 16.5 per cent in June to 17.1 per cent in July this year. A total of 79.9 million Nigerians are said to be jobless just as inflation hits an all-time high.