Fresh produce at Ajah Market climbed sharply through the first quarter of 2026. A paint bucket of onions sold for N3,500 in the week of January 26 and reached N6,500 by the week of March 16, a rise of N3,000 or 85.7%. A paint bucket of tomatoes moved from N4,000 in the week of February 2 to N6,000 by March 16, up 50.0%. For a household cooking stew, the two ingredients that anchor the pot both became markedly more expensive over the same weeks.
Pepper and tatashe firmed alongside them. A paint bucket of rodo pepper was captured at N6,000 in the week of March 16, and a paint of tatashe at the same N6,000, while a kilogram of shombo and a kilogram of tatashe each sat at N3,500 earlier in February. The cluster of vegetable increases points to a supply and transport squeeze rather than a single product running short.
That reading matches what the trade bodies have said. The President of the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association told Vanguard in April that onion production for the season was strong and dismissed scarcity fears, while the tomato growers argued the real pressure on prices was the cost of transport and farm inputs. Tomato farmers separately warned Leadership that prices typically tighten heading into the May and June lean season, which frames the Ajah climb as seasonal pressure building rather than a permanent step up.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that onions and tomatoes were still cheaper year on year by April 2026 even as they rose month on month, a pattern that fits a market where the spring increase sits on top of a softer 2025 base.
Live readings sit on the Ajah Market real-time prices page, and buyers can compare produce across markets on the compare tool.