Whenever she points to a commodity, Noëlle Beyala, housewife, was surprised at the prices indicated by the seller. Costs of some food crops like tomato, onion and pear have doubled, or even tripled.

At the Mfoundi Market in Yaoundé, an area where several housewives and resellers get their supply just like the Mvog Atangana-Mballa market, below are the reasons for the scarcity to justify the increase of the prices of these three speculations.

Tomato

These red vegetables are a precious commodity on the market. First, we have to find them, then the price. According to the traders, a crate of tomatoes is currently between 12000 F and 15000F instead of 5000 F in normal times.

In detail, the pile of four small tomatoes is bought at 200 f. Carine Ngono, reseller in the Mfoundi market, gets supplies from producers in the Western region. "Tomatoes that come from there are grown in wetlands. However, at this moment, it rains and water floods. The plants are destroyed", she explained.

In addition, the Bayam-Sellam indicated that "the roads are bad and when it rains, the transportation of goods is even more difficult. For the reseller, the high season is between May and late July or even throughout the first months of the year.

Onion

"Onion is already expensive," warned Bernadette Bikié, reseller in Mfoundi market. Four onions at 1000 F, that is 250 F for one instead of 100 F approximately at the usual time. Red Onion season draws to a close. And there are warning signs.

"When the white onions invade the market, it is very difficult to find the Red", explained Bernadette Bikié, before announcing that they will come back by December and that prices should be more stable in this period.

Pears

It is the off-season for pears. "The full production period has passed", announced Marveille Kamdem, reseller at the Mvog Atangana-Mballa market in Yaoundé.

However, the price per bag of 100 kg of pear is 60 000 f instead of 10 000 F during the high season. To ensure profit, they are forced to sell one pear between 300 and 400 F against 150 F or 200 F during the rest of the year.