Trying to stay healthy by eating fresh fruit is not so easy in Maiduguri.

Not only has the price of fruit skyrocketed, but some produce – especially oranges – cannot be found in the city’s markets.

Growers in the area blamed the lack rain, saying there was not enough water for trees to grow. This made many types of fruit scarcely available.

“I don’t know what has happened to oranges – they seem to have disappeared. I want to buy some but cannot find any,” said Malam Hamza Gashigar, a resident of Maiduguri, adding that he had been looking for more than a week without success.

Fatima Umar Baba, another resident, said that she was “addicted to oranges”.

“I have been looking for oranges and have been to the market every day, but I cannot find any. I’ve also found that the price of fruit generally has increased,” she said. “I have managed to buy some other fruit even with the spike in prices.”

Modu Goni, chairman of the fruit vendors’ association in Maiduguri, said the prices had increased because of the scarcity of fruit − and it did not apply just oranges.

The lack of sufficient water was a major setback, he said.

“Fruit is brought in from Edo State and Damboa in Borno State. But the supply is not enough to feed and sustain the residents of Maiduguri.”

He said all growers depended on rain but it had not rained for some time. He called on the government to help make water available to growers.

“If the growers get water, fruit will not be so scarce and the prices should come down, making it more affordable for everyone,” he said.

The prices would not go down now because, if they did, the growers would not make any profit from the fruit they sell and it would not be worth they while.

“The cost of transporting produce has increased because of the fuel hikes. We do business for profit, not for loss. We have to sell our produce at an appreciative price to make it worthwhile for the growers,” he said.

Meanwhile, a report by the United Nations – State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World – said a survey had shown that fruit, vegetables, as well as dairy and protein foods, were most expensive in Nigeria. It also revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic could push 130-million more people across the globe to chronic hunger by the end of the year.