Eid-el Kabir: prices of food items rises in Benin markets

foodstuff

Prices of some food stuff, including livestock in some markets in Benin have gone up due to the Sallah.

A checks also revealed that apart from the increase in prices of food stuff, item like beef was not available in some of the markets and there was also low patronage.

A visit to Uselu, Ekiosa, Oba and Egor markets showed that buyers decided to go for chicken, which was also on the high side.

NAN reports that the price of live chicken this year was high compared to what it was sold for in 2017.

A small chicken that was sold for N5,000 in 2017, was now being sold for between N6,000 and N5500, depending on the bargaining power.

At Oba market, a basket of onions which was sold for N16,000 last week, was now being sold for N20,000.

At Ekiosa market, a small basket of tomatoes which was sold for N9,000 was now being sold for N12,000.

Doris Okhiade, a trader of yams attributed the high cost to transportation, adding that most of the yams sold in Benin were from the North.

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She also blamed insurgency in some parts of the country for the high cost of yams.

According to her, the prevailing market situation and also the rainy season are also factors that contributed to the increase.

Another trader in meat, Osas Ihama attributed the non-availability of beef in the market to the fact that cows were not slaughtered today.

According to Ihama, majority of traders in cow are from the North and have travelled for the Sallah.

He said after the celebration, the prices of livestock would reduce.

However, Ihama said that before the Sallah, meat sellers had been recording very low patronage.

He blamed it on the harsh economic situation in the county as well as the timing of the celebration, as it was not end of the month when civil servants would have been paid their salaries.

 

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