Foodstuff transporters under the auspices of Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria, AUFCDN, have warned Nigerians to expect skyrocketing food prices in December and in 2025. In a note to news outlets National President, AUFCDN, Mohammed Tahir, said the current pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, and Diesel are frustrating foodstuff transporters, and coupled with the serious extortion and double taxation members of the Union are experiencing daily on federal highways. He said “Each trailer-load of rice, beans, corn, and others from Sokoto to Port Harcourt costs N2.25 million. The same thing we spend to transport to other southern parts of the country. All these boils down to the final consumer who bears the whole brunt. Now, Christmas celebration is fast approaching, the cost of foodstuff will skyrocket beyond what Nigerians are buying, and this will compound the hardship they are facing, and also the prices will increase in the New Year as well. We are concerned as Nigerians are suffering and cannot afford these prices.
According, to him, the huge amount spent on transporting foodstuff including livestock is really frustrating their business. “The high cost of transportation is traceable to double taxation; high pump price of Premium Motor Spirit and Diesel, high cost of maintenance, local and state governments’ revenue collectors mount roadblocks to ask us to pay for this levy, sticker, and others, also security agencies including agberos extort us, and then in the market we offload the foodstuff there people who come to collect money from us on what they call ‘ground fee’ and others. The dangerous regions we pay all kinds of levies are the South-East, South-South and parts of South-West, we pay all this money, where they even beat up our drivers and motor-boys if they argue”, he lamented. He also expressed pain and accused the government of neglect.
According to the AUFCDN boss, Government has never called them to a meeting on how to address their plight. He said they deserve government’s attention based on the strategic role they role they play. He pointed out that his member endanger their lives to transport food from the north to the southern parts of the country amid insecurity. “We are really suffering, we have not received any call for a meeting to address our plight as major stakeholders in the food system who are deep into the feeding of Nigerians on daily basis. We are looking forward to this meeting with the government so we can table these challenges before Government so we can also be encouraged and motivated by their intervention to reduce the heavy burden on our shoulders”, he said.
Meanwhile, he said most of their members have stopped transporting foodstuff due to the high cost of running the business, and it is not a good thing for the country. “I can tell you that most of our members who have stopped transporting foodstuff due to these challenges I told you about. How are they surviving is another issue entirely. There has never been an intervention for foodstuff transporters by any administration. We don’t want to go on strike over these issues because if we do few hours hunger will paralyze the entire country. We are considering the vulnerable Nigerians who do not have any other means of accessing food. Therefore, Government should consider our plight and urgently intervene. If we stop the transportation of foodstuff it would adversely affect the country”, he said.
Foodstuff transporters warns Nigerians to expect skyrocketing food prices in December, 2025
