How Ramadan boosts businesses in Kano

Every year, during the month of Ramadan when the Muslim faithful fast and pray, many businesses thrive more than they normally do, as a result of higher demand.

These businesses are mostly drinks and foods, as many people, including governments and the wealthy, buy them in bulk, especially considering the need to give to the poor.

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It was gathered that many of the businesses that thrive in the month provide opportunities for operators to earn more and prepare ahead for the whole year as their enterprises normally turn out to be more profitable. 

“This is the season I get the money to plan for the whole year because before now, our business does not thrive well; we would only get a little for food and few other things. It is during this period that I pay for my shop rent, buy cloths for the family and even pay for hajj if I intend to go,” a businessman in Singer Market, Kano said.

Daily Trust on Sunday also observed that apart from food and drinks, notable among the businesses that thrive during the month are cloths, which Muslims buy for Sallah celebration. 

In Kano, some of the notable markets where businessmen and women look forward to during the Ramadan period every year are Singer, where foodstuffs are sold; Sabongari, where food condiments are sold in retail; Galadima, where they sell cooking oil, and some parts of Kofar Wambai, where they sell dates, as well as the Kwari textiles market for new cloths. 

Others are the ice block/cold rooms at Katsina road, Dakata and Sharada; the Yankaba perishable market and the Yanlemo fruit market etc. 

When Daily Trust on Sunday visited some of the markets in Kano metropolis, sellers of the various products were busy with customers, who are in their numbers.  

Residents search for ice blocks amid price hike 

When our correspondent visited the popular cold room locations in Kano (Sharada, Dakata, Kwanar Tifa and Katsina road), the places were crowded, with sounds of generators, indicating lack of grid electricity, which, according to the sellers, forced them to hike their prices because of the cost of fuel and diesel. 

“No doubt, this is our time. We get money during this period. And it is the only season when this business is thriving. Although we face challenges, everybody in this market is always anticipating this period,” Shamsu Ja’afar, who owns a cold room at Sharada ice block market said.

Speaking on the hike in the price of ice blocks, a dealer at the Dakata cold room, Shuaibu Muhammad, said the need for the products led to 70 per cent increase in the price, while power outrage led to 30 per cent.

“People are trooping to buy ice block; and 90 per cent of sellers were not in the business before. They only joined during this period. People usually come from within the city and neighbouring villages to buy ice blocks. As I speak to you now, the ice block that was sold at N70 one week to Ramadan is now N150.’

He said one other reason for the price hike was the fact that water would spend two or three days in the cold room to block, and this consumes much power or diesel.  

Perishables, fruit sellers make brisk business

At the popular Yankaba and Yanlemo markets, where perishables such as tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, and fruits such as oranges, watermelon and pineapple are sold, marketers expressed satisfaction and narrated how they are making daily sales.

Rabiu Danladi, the secretary of the Yankaba Market Association, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the price of perishables in the market had doubled in the past week.

“Pepper is recording much concern because it is not available in Kano due to bad yield it had in recent times, courtesy of the weather. Even that of Kazaure is not strong, so we have to look into Bauchi and other neighbouring states producing it to buy.

He said although they were making brisk sales during Ramadan, they would always sell because their products are consumed on a daily basis.

“This is an important season for us because we make a lot of sales more than the normal periods. But our business also doesn’t stop after Ramadan because people make use of fruits daily,” a marketer at Yanlemo fruit market said.

Our correspondent also gathered that foodstuffs like rice, spaghetti, beans, sugar, cooking oil, millet and other related food items attracted huge sales, days preceding the commencement of the fasting period as most people bought in bulk, hoping that it would last for the 30 days of fasting.

Marketers at the popular Singer Market said they received double what they used to have during the normal days since the beginning of Ramadan.

Alhaji Aminu Lawan, a major distributor of sugar, rice and spaghetti in the Singer Market, said that for the past decades he had spent in the business, fasting period had become his favourite. He added that it is during this period that he makes new budgets for his business and other things.

“During this blessed time, we do a lot of things and record a lot of sales. We have to thank God for that. Sometimes we cannot even account for the number of trailers of rice or spaghetti we sell in the month,” he said. 

He, however, said the huge sales normally reduced after the first week of the month because people would have bought foodstuffs for the whole month.

Many dealers interviewed in the market also said they made huge sales during the month, but are always worried about price hike, which they said was normally from the company, occasioned by general inflation and the hike in the price of diesel.  

Concentrated juice and tea sellers also smiling to the bank

When our correspondent moved to the concentrated juice session in Singer Market and some parts of Sabongari, marketers were seen loading and offloading cartons of various products while customers waited on queues.

Saifullahi Umar, who owns a shop at Singer Market, said that before the month of Ramadan, he hardly sold four cartons of juice, but he is now able to sell more than 15 cartons in a day.

He added that the season had given him the opportunity to even generate the money to complete his building as he is about to marry next year.

“This is the season I have been waiting for. It was during the last two seasons that I bought a plot of land, and now, God willing, I will complete the project with what I will earn this month. This is the period our business thrives the most,” he said. 

For Yusuf Yakubu, who sells tea leaves in different colours and flavours, the Ramadan period is a busy time. According to him, there is no day he sits in the market without customers coming to buy in both large and small quantities.  

Date sellers smile daily  

Date sellers also expressed delight with the coming of Ramadan as Muslims are urged to break their fast with dates to emulate the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad; hence their business is thriving.  

Kwari textile marketers await last 15 days of Ramadan

Although they have started generating sales, marketers in the popular Kantin Kwari Textile Market said the last 15 days of the month of Ramadan would be the most profitable for their business as customers troop in to buy materials to use during the eid festival.

“We have started feeling the market as people have started trooping to buy things. But believe me, if you come during the last two weeks of the month you will be surprised. This time is when we prepare for big things in our lives. 

Alhaji Nasiru Yunusa, a dealer in the market said, “At least, in a day you can receive over 100 customers in your shop, excluding the ones that will buy online.”