Bismarck Rewane, an economist and Executive Director of Financial Derivatives, has reported that the prices of tomatoes and pepper have dropped to N60,000 per basket amid the ongoing hunger protests. He shared this information during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday.

Rewane, who also serves on the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, explained that this drop is significant compared to the N130,000 to N150,000 per basket that these items were selling for two to three weeks ago. He pointed out that “the price of tomatoes had dropped to N60,000 per basket—a significant reduction from the price two to three weeks ago.”

He further noted that the drop in prices is largely due to the protests and movement restrictions, which have prevented farm produce from reaching the markets, leading to a sell-off of what’s available. Rewane stated, “Pepper has come down to N60,000 by 57 percent. I think that these are perishable goods. Because of the protests and the restrictions on movement, the goods that are on the farm are not getting to market and the ones in the market are being sold off.”

However, Rewane cautioned that prices may rise again as business activities return to normal in Nigerian markets after the protests. He expects that “in the next few days, the price of tomatoes and peppers will increase again. Right now it is the perishable value that will be seen in the market.”