Christmas: Price of rice, chicken skyrockets ahead of festivity

The prices of rice, chicken and other food items have skyrocketed in most markets in Owerri, the Imo State capital, ahead of the Christmas festivity.
A survey in the city on Tuesday shows that the price of rice, both Nigerian and foreign brands, recorded significant increase.
A small paint bucket of Nigerian rice, which was sold at N1,500 before the Christmas season set in, now goes for N1,900, while 5 kg, 10 kg and 25 kg bags go for N2,300, N4,500 and N11,000, respectively.
A 50 kg bag of Nigerian brand, which previously sold at N18,000, now goes for N20,000.
For the foreign rice, a paint bucket goes for between N2,200 and N2,500, depending on the brand, while a 50 kg bag sells at between N25,000 and N30,000, depending on the brand.
A big size live broiler goes for about N8,000, while the moderate size sells at between N4,000 and N5,000.
The demand for local chickens has also forced its price from N1,500 to N2,000, depending on the size.
A medium size bag and small basket of Onions go for N6,000 and N2,000, respectively.
The price of Crayfish also went up from N15,000 to N16,000 a bag, while dried prawns are sold at N4,500 for a small bucket.
Large tubers of yam sell for between N400 and N450 each, while smaller ones sell at N200 a tuber.
However, fresh tomato recorded a slight drop in price as a big size basket of the commodity, which previously sold at N7,000 now sells at N5,000,
Some traders, who spoke to NAN on the situation, attributed the fluctuation in the market price of the commodities to the inceease in demand due to the Yuletide.