Topic: How to reduce the price of goods - page 5. (Read 1512 times)

Law of supply and demand is the first thing that would come to mind when talking about the price of stuff. If you want to cheapen things out, especially commodities like food items and perishables, you gotta make them or produce them more than what you would normally. This would create a surplus supply, and in order to make sure it sells out you'd drop the price of the goods which will be great for the people. Another would be the price of oil. Should we find a way to effectively rollback the price of oil and fuel, logistics wouldn't be so expensive anymore which is also one of the primary factors why produce is so expensive, with a cheaper transportation fee, vendors can sell these goods at a cheaper rate.

Well, the country has a very unstable economy right now with the value of its currency reducing day after day, true. Anyways, this may be some of the causes and ways to reduce the prices of goods in Nigeria ;

Well, you must first understand that the prices of goods and services are influenced by the movements of demand and supply in the country, and anything that affects these two affects the prices.

Firstly, the monetary policy in the country is terrible and isn't updated. There's an increase in the supply of money that a lot of people are unwilling to save and they spend every day, leading to more reduction in its value. Another thing that leads to this would be the increase in burrowing rates, increase in wages, profits, and many others. You see it's like a cycle that goes on and on.

Secondly, the insecurities. The Ukraine-Russia war affected the prices of goods, oil, etc. Even in Nigeria itself, there is no security, and people can't produce in such an environment. 

Thirdly, production is low. People tend to import more, and since the cost of importing is high due to the reduction of the value of the currency, they would increase the prices of goods brought down to the consumers.

Now to reduce the prices of goods, the government and most importantly the people would have to
Save and invest, implement and follow monetary and fiscal policies that are effective, resolve insecurity problems... Solving the subsidy issue would be extremely helpful, provide good infrastructures for manufacturers, and reduce the cost of production, which would help increase the quantity and quality of domestic goods instead of depending on imported goods

That's right, moreover we have to know the track record of the candidate we are going to vote for, such as the track record in the organizations we follow, both official institutions and socio-political institutions. Has the candidate ever committed deviations that harmed many people or carried out activities that enriched himself or people in his environment to the detriment of other people or many people?
because of a good track record, it is likely that the prospective leader will be a good leader and understand what society wants or needs. And it is also important to know the personal attitudes and behavior that are visible in the candidate's daily life. It is not easy to do this research because winning will be determined by many people who may not only have one choice and there will also be games for those who don't care and will choose because of money, and this is a commonplace thing that will continue to exist.

Corruption exists almost in every country but it is surely most prevalent in developing countries (which I suggest we all start using this term because third-world country is a politically incorrect term, it is outdated and considered offensive)  however that doesn't mean we can't do anything regarding ensuring that we are electing those who have good intentions for the betterment of the government and the motherland. Although you have a point that we cannot be 100% sure that the politicians that we are electing will never be corrupt and only have selfish intension once they get their desired position there are certain things we can do to at least have a bit of confidence that the people who choose to lead us are capable of their tasks and responsibilities as leaders, an example is researching their backgrounds and knowing what have they already accomplished as public servants and political leaders; knowing their political platforms are also a plus.

Everyone wants their country to be led by a good person who has foresight and cares about the country. But how do we know who will be a good leader and what will definitely not be like the old leaders? When they have not yet become leaders, they can be good people to gain recognition and support. But when they become leaders, what guarantees that they will not reveal their true nature or will not change when they hold power and wealth?

Even in developed countries, corruption still exists, and it is certainly worse in third world countries. Corruption comes from human greed and greed is an inseparable part of anyone.

This problem is worldwide.  Almost everyone suffers from this problem.  Since the time of the corona pandemic, the economy has collapsed all over the world.  It is really sad. Especially it affects the most developing countries.  The increase in the price of goods, the deterioration of the value of money, all these things have upset the human life.  Although the price of everything has increased, but the salary has not increased. Because of this, people are not able to adapt to the current situation.

It seems it lies down to the human nature. The corrupts remain corrupts unless the righteous member of the society stand for their rights and demand to change. It happened before in my country long ago and it's in the history, The People Power. I wonder if it will happen again. Until what degree do people will tolerate the wrongdoing for the leaders they voted for the first place. Philippines is such a great country. Abundant of nature, resources yet poor leaders.

I had no idea that the food industry in Nigeria was government controlled and a monopoly. That is a terrible situation if you ask me. First of all, the government shouldn't be business owners, this might work to a certain extend in communist countries, but long term this is not going to lead to competitive and profitable business. One might argue that the food industry is essential and therefore the government should control it, however the government could still control it through regulations and laws and not direct ownership. Private companies operate for a profit and are looking for ways to make their business more profitable, whereas the government employees have no motivation to run a company so efficient. And then there is the whole point of having a monopoly which is really bad, without direct competition they government can charge whatever price they like and are not forced to offer the lowest price possible for the consumers. There is a reason why in most countries’ monopolies are not allowed and companies would be split up if there is a violation of the law. Hopefully Nigeria can raise awareness to that issue and push for a political solution.

I am sure that such schemes work even in situations where is no mafia, or where crime is not so developed. Kickback schemes can be implemented at any level, from government organizations to the smallest commercial areas. Together with high inflation, this creates conditions under which prices can only rise, and if not for human greed, and the constant desire to get more, everything could have been different.

Of course, they know how to reduce the prices, but the major thing which is stopping them from doing so is corruption and their kickbacks. In third-world countries, politicians partner with mafias to earn more money and transfer it to their foreign bank accounts. Everyone in the government is involved in these practices, whether in the government or the opposition. These countries should try to elect leaders who will help the country progress in the long run. 

That right and It's sad that this status was declared in the midst of soaring prices and hunger. I think the weakening of the currency has contributed to putting pressure on the cost of living in Nigeria. So, independent participation is also needed from the community and the government must also continue to work and think about this quickly.

you cannot reduce food prices but you can try to not spend money on unwanted luxurious things, save money and wait for the situation to get back normal.
nigeria needs to find a good balance between making stuff and using stuff because right now, there are more people using things than making them. It's also really important for Nigeria to keep its food safe and secure. to do that, Nigeria should make plans like storing extra food in special places to make sure there's always enough to eat.

That's actually a good point and I totally agree with that. Foods or items that are imported from other countries are generally more expensive compared to foods and items that are produced within the country because there isn't a lot of cost in logistics when the product is being produced within the country, it's just that the item is shipped from one city to another and that doesn't really make the price go up as much as it makes it if the item is coming from another country.

So, governments can actually reduce the price of foods and items if they try and produce the same items that they import within their own country. They might not be able to do that will everything but they can at least do it with items that are possible for them to grow produce or create to reduce the costs and prices.

Well I think this isn't entirely true... in Nigeria most of our foods are locally produced and even the ones that are imported can be grown here in Nigeria. Now there are other basic factors that affects the cost of food in Nigeria. We have the issue of transportation,  this issue is solely affected by our bad roads and hike in fuel price. Secondly the issue of storage, this issue is generally for home grown organic foods that are transported from one region of the country to another. Thirdly the issue of power supply (electricity) perishable food suffer greatly with the lack of electricity to preserve these goods. Vendors of such goods go the extra mile to preserve their goods. With all of these issues that vendors face though sad but they have to make a living. Here's a solution, you can own a home garden where you can plant some necessary foods and it's not expensive and doesn't consume so much space too.

Production of goods is really a huge problem if there's a presence of conflict between countries, how much more if the government has no control over it. More particular with the wars between countries and different issues that affects the worldwide market. Reduction of price of goods couldn't be made into easier strategy, but we need support from the people within the government connections that will consolidate all requirements needed to be addressed to help underlying concerns be escalated in proper ways.

Unfortunately, it isn't possible to control prices in monopoly markets due to the lack of any competition. Unfortunately, the lack of competition and a monopolistic system especially in the food industry doesn't help reduce food costs in any way. If the government allows a company to become a monopolist in such a special market, the only institution that should be questioned at this point will be the government. Especially when we consider the African continent, we can see that there is already a serious food shortage. In such a situation, unfortunately, it isn't very ethical for the government to allow monopolistic management of food and the food industry.

In summary, the fact that the food industry is controlled by a single company or business and the state doesn't intervene or regulate it will unfortunately not help reduce high costs. Moreover, if the situation continues like this unfortunately it will not be possible to find alternative or more affordable options for food prices. In these conditions, there will be access to food and groceries at more affordable prices at least with certain price restrictions and regulations but only if the government provides control.

If such people have reach to the policy makers, then it is the responsibility of the people to stand up against the corrupt elements sitting in the government houses,because the corrupt people sitting in the government houses are able to reach there only by the power of the people's vote.

Just like in our country, the monopolists who have control over the market often increase the price of any food items by 2x to 3x times at once, due to which the low income people are affected a lot,but it is surprising that no action is taken against them, but after a few days of noise, the matter is suppressed because the corrupt elements sitting in the government houses are in partnership with them.Therefore, in my opinion, it is the responsibility of the people not to help such corrupt elements to reach the government houses, but to show strong resistance against them.Surely this will be an effective measure to end the monopoly of few people.

With most of the countries this is a big problem. Particularly with African countries the governments were the reason behind the destruction of the economy. Everywhere corruption and it ruins the life of the common man. There need to be transparency in governance. Even in some part of the country traditional methods of tax collections were there. These things will surely lead to ease of corruption. Another thing is the western influence over the countries, different corporate firms make deals with the government and take the natural wealth. What will be left behind? Will the people be fairly treated, No!! If the government is proper in its position automatically things will turn better with time.

Yes... it is true that a policy must be investigated and supervised as well and effectively as possible. However, sometimes games between the supervisory team and the implementing team (government) often occur, so that the programs implemented are merely ceremonial so that there is material to report to their leaders.

It is true what you say that the government is everywhere, in fact a government can be called a complex system because they are present from the highest level, namely the president, to the lowest level which is in direct contact with the community. And it is true that even though this government system is very complex, the implementation of policies is still minimal, which means that in the end the public cannot enjoy the results of the policies that have been made by the central and regional governments.

Are you purely talking about Nigeria or the worldwide economy? As Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa if I recall correctly, however they are still relatively small when compared against many other countries outside of Africa. Unfortunately certain countries have been so corrupted and maybe classified as "democracies" in name only, as the leadership will often manipulate their inherent advantages when they have been entrenched for a long time. It's very difficult to build a strong country with independent judiciaries, police forces, institutions and politicians - taking generations or even centuries to achieve the right level of stability. However they can often be broken by people abusing certain powers in unexpected ways.