With the alarming cost of yam, Irish potatoes and fruits in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, residents are forced to consider other alternatives to break their fast in this Ramadan period.
While sellers mostly complain of hard times due to a significant drop in their daily sales, buyers decry high prices that exceed their purchasing power, worsening their economic situation.
At different places visited, prices of yam, Irish potatoes, water melon, oranges, apples, pineapples and other fruits have almost tripled.
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Modu Maudu, a potato buyer at Yan-nono market, complained bitterly about the hike in price.
“A measure of potatoes I bought N2,000 days back now costs N3,500, and the quantity won’t be enough to feed me and my little ones. So, I was forced to buy rice and cook to break the fast, but it wasn’t as satisfying as Irish potatoes,” he said.
Malama Aisha, another customer that patronizes the Post Office area to buy yam said that despite continued appeals to traders to reduce prices during Ramadan, the hike affected everything.
“I am appealing to the government to intervene and see how it would make the traders reduce the prices of such commodities to cushion the effect of the present economic hardship.
“A small basket of Irish potatoes now costs N4,500 against N3,200 we usually bought it few days back; and a medium sized yam of N1,000 now costs N2,000. Where can a poor man like me get money to buy this?
“Besides, that basket of Irish can’t feed us, a family of four. We now break our fast with local delicacies like Danwake, Masa and gruel or fried sweet potatoes, which is relatively less expensive,” Bagana Abubakar said.
One of the potato sellers, Samaila Dan Jigawa, said he was contemplating leaving the Irish for sweet potatoes because of the rapid increase in its price.
“A day before the fasting commenced, a bag of Irish potato was N40,000, but it is now N55,000. When you share it into these small baskets, one can’t sell it below N4,500. It is not our fault that the price is going up,” he said.
Mrs Aysha said her family loved eating potatoes and yam during Ramadan, but due to the hike in the price, “We now eat normal food like rice, akara and kunu (gruel).
“Now, with N4,500 we would spend on potatoes, I can buy beans, groundnut and millet to prepare kunu and akara (gruel and beans cake) as alternative food,” she added.
Another yam seller in Baga market, Muhammad Mahuta, also complained that he would suspend the business until the price crashed.
“With the heat wave in Maiduguri, Irish potatoes easily perish but people always want to buy it fresh without considering what we are going through.
“We are facing lots of difficulty doing the business this time around considering the cost of supply; I mean the transport cost and the hot season. I even contemplated leaving the business like some of my colleagues that switched to other businesses, but I must do it to survive,” he said.
Mohammed Samaila Lamowa, who was at Monday market to buy watermelon, said the price was out of reach as it is too exorbitant to buy.
“A moderate sized melon costs between N2,000 and N2,500, so many people don’t have the purchasing power to buy it now. A week before Ramadan, that size of melon cost only N1,000, and at most, N1,200. And you will need cold water and some other things to break the fast daily,” he said,
Abba Samaila, a yam and potato seller at Yan-nono market, complained bitterly over the high cost commodities in the town.
“The wholesale price is becoming too high, and it keeps increasing daily due to higher transportation costs. Before now, we sold 6 pieces of this yam at N6,000 but today, it is N18,000.
“In the last few days, we bought a bag of Irish potatoes at N40,000, but now, it is N55,000. I would advise the state government to invest more in places like Chibok and Goza, where tuber crops can be cultivated.
Usman Babayo, another yam and potato seller at Bulunkutu market, also said, “What brought the sharp hike in the price of tubers is fuel subsidy removal. Two days back, I bought this sack of orange N22,000, but today, it is N24,000. The federal government should return the payment of subsidy to ease the situation.
“Transporters avoid loading goods to Maiduguri due to the distance and high cost of diesel. And for those who agreed to come, they charge exorbitantly,” he said.
A fruit seller, Mohammad Lawan, said they received all kinds of abuse from buyers over the hike in price,
“It wasn’t our fault. I used to pay N8,000 as transport from Konduga, but now, it is N65,000. Also, yesterday we got an increase of N50,000 on top of the normal price. Before the fasting period, it was N130,000, but it is N180,000 today,” he said.
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