Abuja, June 26, 2023: Barely two days to Sallah, ram sellers across the country are complaining of low patronage, just as buyers also lament the exorbitant prices of the prized animal used to Muslims’ festival of Eid-el-Kabir.
A survey conducted shows that despite the fact that the markets are moving at a snail speeds, yet, prices of animals were on the high side.
Check at animal market, Kara in Birnin Kebbi indicates that the rate of buying and selling was very low compared to previous years.
The Chairman, Animal Sellers’ Association, Malam Aliyu Haido, said the market was not moving as expected, attributing it to lack of funds in the hands of people.
He listed other factors to include; non-payment of salaries, high cost of animal feeds as well as high rate of inflation which he said affected not only animals but also all marketable items.
Haido said ram that cost N60,000 last year now goes for between N80,000 and N85,000, a goat that used to be N20,000 now cost N30,000, while cow that was sold for N200,000 last year now cost between N300,000 and N350,000.
Malam Musa Mansur, also a ram sellers in the state capital, said the market was frustrating, expressing the hope that salaries would be paid before Sallah to enable workers perform the Holly sacrifice.
He said many of their colleagues were pushed out of business due to high cost of transportation, high cost of the animals in addition to over spending on security personnel at roadblocks.
Mr Olanrewaju Lawal, a customer, linked the low patronage to shortage of funds.
Lawal attributed the high cost of not only ram but also essential commodities to hike in fuel price “which virtually affects everything. However, we hope the new government will come up with palliative to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.”
While lamenting the high cost of ram, Lawal recalled that last year, he bought two moderate sizes of rams at N53,000 and N60,000 respectively but such rams now cost N75,000 and N85,000 and above.
In some markets in Adamawa, few customers were seen patronising the sellers compared to the previous years.
Malam Ladan Muhammad, Sarkin Tike of Tashan-Sani livestock market, attributed the low patronage to the economic hardship being faced by customers.
According to him, some of the customers also attributed the non-payment of salary and high cost of living as factors responsible for their non-patronage.
Muhammad also said the prices of the rams were on the high side compared to 2022, because of the high cost of animal feeds, transportation and insecurity.
He added that a lot of the dealers have been forced out of business because of the aforementioned factors.
Muhammad said the current prices of rams available for customers depended largely on their sizes, saying they ranged from N30,000 to N270,000.
He however expressed optimism that more customers would troop out the moment they received their salaries.
Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, a ram agent, also confirmed the low patronage by customers, saying it has negatively affected his income.
Sadiq also expressed confidence that the situation would change for the better as soon as workers start receiving their salaries.
