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Nigeria blames tomato scarcity, price surge on farm infestation

Published

7 months ago

May 28, 2024

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has said that a severe infestation of the tomato crop is the reason for the scarcity and elevated prices of the essential commodity in the country.

In a statement on Monday, Kyari referred to the infestation causing tomato scarcity as “Tomato Ebola” or “Tomato Leaf Miner.” The minister mentioned that to contain and get rid of the infestation, the Federal Government had dispatched specialists to the impacted areas.

The Minister explained that “a significant number of our tomato farms have been affected by a severe infestation known as Tomato Ebola or Tomato Leaf Miner. This has drastically reduced the availability of tomatoes and contributed to rising costs.

“Our ministry is taking immediate action to combat this issue. We are deploying agricultural experts to affected areas to contain and eliminate the infestation.

“Additionally, we are supporting our farmers with the necessary resources and guidance to recover their crops as quickly as possible, just as we instituted the Ginger Blight Control Taskforce.

“We understand the impact this has on your daily lives and are working tirelessly to resolve the situation and restore the supply of affordable tomatoes,

Tomato prices in Nigeria surged earlier this month and now sell as high as N150,000 in some parts of the country, according to a recent market survey as vendors in Lagos, Abuja, and other locations were charging as much as N140,000 and N150,000 for a basket of tomatoes.

Dealers ascribed the increase to normal seasonal variations in the amount of tomatoes produced. They claimed that with the arrival of the nation’s wet season, the harvest season for the varieties of tomatoes currently on sale is practically ended.

Tomato prices have increased significantly over the past year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) most recent Food Price Watch report for April. Between April 2023 and April 2024, there was a 131.58% increase in the price of 1 kg of tomatoes. This is a significant annual cost increase.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria tomato scarcity in Nigeria

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.