BEVERLY HILLS, May 11, (THEWILL) – As this year`s Ramadan Sallah approaches, prices of foodstuffs and other consumer goods have soared in the Kano metropolis.
A survey by THEWILL showed that the prices of egg, rice, yam, vegetable, pepper, onion and even fruits increased even as some traders and dealers complained of low patronage.
This is as some commodities’ peddlers attributed the price increase to the high exchange rate of the naira to the dollar, insecurity and the economic downturn that negatively affected the purchasing power of the consumer, as well as greed by some traders who used the period to arbitrarily hike the prices of goods and services.
At Muhammad Abubakar Rimi Market Sabon Gari in Kano metropolis, for instance, it was discovered that a 50kg bag of the Choice brand of rice sold for N27,000, as against N25,000, while less popular brands sold for N24,000 and N22,000 as against N20,000 some month ago.
The survey also showed that a medium-sized basket of bulb onion went for between N800 and N1,000, a bag of pepper attracted N5,000 as against N3,000 and a basket of tomatoes sold at N7,000 as against N5,000.
A rice dealer, Malam Mustapha Diso, attributed the increase in the prices of imported rice to the approaching Ramadan Sallah period and the rising exchange rate of the naira to the dollar.
Malam Aminu Garba Yakasai, Chairman of the Vegetable Sellers Association at Muhammad Abubakar Rimi Market, attributed the increase in the prices of vegetables to the approaching Ramadan Sallah festival and the scarcity of the product in the market.
The Chairman said onions currently in the market were those planted during the last Harmattan season, with no new ones in sight.
Malam Idris Muhammad, Chairman of the Bird Sellers Association, Sabon Gari Market, said that for the first time, there had been no hike in the price of poultry. Investigation conducted showed that the price of chicken per head remained the same for now as against the high price in the previous fasting period.
The Chairman said last year the association recorded very poor sales due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
At Dawanau Market, the Sarkin Kasuwa said the market was the largest grains market not only in Nigeria but in Africa, and is also the second largest market in the world
He said the market had slashed the costs of all kinds of grains by 20% to meet the demand of the people during the Ramadan period.
Findings revealed that the cost of 1kg cow internal organs has increased astronomically, leaving thousands of patrons of the popular Abubakar Rimi Market in Sabon Gari to bemoan the situation.
Malam Musa Kakara, Chairman of the Meat Sellers Association at the Abubakar Rimi Market, said the price of meat had shot up because of insecurity in some parts of the country.
He lamented the increase that he blamed on consistent attacks on cattle rearers by Boko Haram insurgents, and that this negatively affected demand in the market.
Kakara said the price of cow’s internal organs cost about N60,000 to N70,000 as against N40,000, which posed a big challenge to meat sellers.
Mustapha Shuaibu Suleiman, Chairman of the Galadima Market Sabon Gari in Kano, said this year the prices of palm oil remained the same as last year’s, and that in fact almost 25% had been shaved off the cost due to low demand during the Ramadan period.
He said the insecurity and cost of transportation had been a big challenge to the palm oil business.
Ashiru Mai Doya Kura, the Secretary of the Yam Sellers’ Association at the Galadima Market, said that lack of new products made the price skyrocket in the market.
He said that the price of small, medium and large tubers of yam went for between N400, N600 and N800 respectively.
A trader, Babangida Muhammad told THEWILL at the Galadima Market that the costs of foodstuff such as yam, palm oil, vegetables and even salt had increased astronomically due to the insecurity in the country.
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