Onions now up to N300,000 a bag: why prices jumped and when relief may come

A 120kg bag of fresh onions now sells for about N300,000 at Lagos' Mile 12 market, up from about N30,000 in April, Vanguard reported. Onion producers blame storage losses, warehouse fires and bad seed rather than a poor harvest, and say prices should start to ease when new supplies arrive from Sokoto and Kebbi from November.

A market survey published by Vanguard on Wednesday 28 October found a big sack of fresh onions at Mile 12 International Market in Lagos selling for N300,000, while dried onions went for between N350,000 and N380,000. That is roughly ten times the April price. Prices are high elsewhere too: in Enugu, a big bag was selling for N272,000 to N280,000 on 21 October, up from N170,000 to N185,000 in September, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

Aliyu Isah, national president of the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN), told Vanguard the problem is not that farmers grew too little. “It's not that we did not produce enough for the country, but we lost more than 51% from April to October,” he said. He blamed poor storage, fires that destroyed onions in storage huts in the North, and seed brought in from Algeria for the 2024–2025 season that he said was unsuited to Nigerian farms and cost farmers nearly N100bn.

Traders in Enugu also pointed to higher transport costs from the North, bad roads and insecurity, NAN reported. Earlier, in September, sellers in Abuja markets told NAN, in a report carried by Daily Trust, that many farmers had planted less after a difficult season and that disease had cut supply.

Isah said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had discussed support for onion farmers, covering seed and farm inputs, with the Bank of Agriculture and the Nigerian Agricultural Development Fund, but that the association had not yet received it. He expects new onions from Sokoto from around November and December, then from Aliero in Kebbi State from late December to January, with the main harvest in March and April. He said that should bring prices down, but warned that losses will keep recurring without better storage.

Pidgin: Onion price don go up well-well: one big bag (120kg) don reach about N300,000 for Mile 12 Lagos, from N30,000 for April. Onion farmers talk say na storage wahala, fire for warehouse and bad seed cause am, no be say dem no plant. Dem say price fit start to come down when new onion from Sokoto and Kebbi land from November.

How this affects you: Expect onions to stay expensive for the next few weeks, especially in the South where transport adds to the cost. Buying smaller quantities, sharing a bag with neighbours or comparing a few markets can help. Producers expect prices to start easing as new supplies arrive from Sokoto and Kebbi between November and January, with the main harvest in March and April.