Grains market booms as harvest intensifies

As the harvest of the 2022 farming season commences, the grains market in Kano is booming, as the produce, in different varieties, are arriving the state through the largest African market, Dawanau in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that the grains have witnessed a drop in price compared to […]

As the harvest of the 2022 farming season commences, the grains market in Kano is booming, as the produce, in different varieties, are arriving the state through the largest African market, Dawanau in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the grains have witnessed a drop in price compared to last year and few months ago, an incident that is connected to the positive yields experienced this season.  

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Although there was flooding in some states that produce large quantity of grains, especially in the North, the grains have started arriving from Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue and Niger states, Daily Trust on Sunday has gathered.

During a visit to the market, it was gathered that crops such as sesame, groundnut, millet, beans and some rare rice varieties arrived from the states, while others such as maize, sorghum, hibiscus and other varieties of beans and sesame are being awaited as they are yet to be harvested.

Speaking on when all the crops will be in the market, the chairman of Dawanau Grains Market, Mustapha Muhammad, said by December, every other grain would arrive, and from the look of things there would be no hike in the prices of the commodities.

He said that so far, the market has been receiving grains and selling to others across the country and the West Africa sub-region, such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Muhammad said although harvest had just started, drop in price started prior to the commencement of the rains, adding that it has been going down. He said many people purchased some of the grains and kept them in their stores but it couldn’t rise to the same price they bought.  

“Before the rains started, people bought maize at N23,000, but it is sold at N21,000 or even N20,000, likewise other grains that are especially consumed here locally. So, when the goods arrive at the market between November and December, many of the crops will also go down. Because we still have old ones at the store and we are still expecting more from the farms,” he said.  

Price comparison

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that there was a high drop in the prices of the commodities this season when compared to the last three months and even last year. Some of the crops that record a drop in the price are soybeans, millet, maize and beans, among others.

It was gathered that soybeans that record high demand in the market because of his export nature has gone down and witnessing low patronage.

Last three months, soybeans (old) sold at N410,000 per ton but now costs N330,000. That is N33,000 per bag. The new variety of is yet to arrive the market; and it can also bring down the price since many people cultivated it this year.

Maize, which was sold at N240,000 per ton (N24,000 per bag), is now sold at N17,000 to 18,000 per bag, equivalent to N180,000 per ton. Large quantity of the new variety of the maize crop is also yet to arrive in the market, but is expected in the next few weeks, Daily Trust on Sunday has gathered. 

Millet was said to have been sold at N240,000 to N250,000 per ton (N24,000 to 25,000 per bag) three months ago, but is now N170,000 to N180,000, which is equivalent to N17,000 or N18,000 per bag. 

From Zahraddeen Yakubu Shuaibu, Kano

 

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s the harvest of the 2022 farming season commences, the grains market in Kano is booming, as the produce, in different varieties, are arriving the state through the largest African market, Dawanau in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the grains have witnessed a drop in price compared to last year and few months ago, an incident that is connected to the positive yields experienced this season.  

Although there was flooding in some states that produce large quantity of grains, especially in the North, the grains have started arriving from Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue and Niger states, Daily Trust on Sunday has gathered.

During a visit to the market, it was gathered that crops such as sesame, groundnut, millet, beans and some rare rice varieties arrived from the states, while others such as maize, sorghum, hibiscus and other varieties of beans and sesame are being awaited as they are yet to be harvested.

Speaking on when all the crops will be in the market, the chairman of Dawanau Grains Market, Mustapha Muhammad, said by December, every other grain would arrive, and from the look of things there would be no hike in the prices of the commodities.

He said that so far, the market has been receiving grains and selling to others across the country and the West Africa sub-region, such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Muhammad said although harvest had just started, drop in price started prior to the commencement of the rains, adding that it has been going down. He said many people purchased some of the grains and kept them in their stores but it couldn’t rise to the same price they bought.  

“Before the rains started, people bought maize at N23,000, but it is sold at N21,000 or even N20,000, likewise other grains that are especially consumed here locally. So, when the goods arrive at the market between November and December, many of the crops will also go down. Because we still have old ones at the store and we are still expecting more from the farms,” he said.  

Price comparison

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that there was a high drop in the prices of the commodities this season when compared to the last three months and even last year. Some of the crops that record a drop in the price are soybeans, millet, maize and beans, among others.

It was gathered that soybeans that record high demand in the market because of his export nature has gone down and witnessing low patronage.

Last three months, soybeans (old) sold at N410,000 per ton but now costs N330,000. That is N33,000 per bag. The new variety of is yet to arrive the market; and it can also bring down the price since many people cultivated it this year.

Maize, which was sold at N240,000 per ton (N24,000 per bag), is now sold at N17,000 to 18,000 per bag, equivalent to N180,000 per ton. Large quantity of the new variety of the maize crop is also yet to arrive in the market, but is expected in the next few weeks, Daily Trust on Sunday has gathered. 

Millet was said to have been sold at N240,000 to N250,000 per ton (N24,000 to 25,000 per bag) three months ago, but is now N170,000 to N180,000, which is equivalent to N17,000 or N18,000 per bag. 

According to marketers, beans went as high as N65,000  last year, with some varieties even going above N80,000. But at the time of filing this report, the commodity (new one) was going at the rate of N32,000 at Dawanu Market, while the old one is sold between N38,000 and N40,000.

One of the major dealers of soybeans and maize in the market, Alhaji Jamilu Sani, told our correspondent that the drop in price was as a result of low demand and the number of the grains expected to arrive at the market from farms. He said the price would still go down since the old goods are in stores while the new ones are coming to the market.

“The goods are much in the market and the demand is going down. We have maize and soybeans in store and more are coming from the farms, so the price is expected to go down.  

“Soybeans is an exportable crop, but this year and last, it has witnessed rapid production. Many people went into soybeans farming and that is why it is dropping. But it is highly patronised by indigenous companies that are into oil production, animal feeds and yoghurt. Also, some companies in Ethiopia are packaging it to produce cake.  

“Maize and millet are also consumed locally and used by flour mills that are into production of Masavita or animal feeds. But for millet, some African countries like Niger, Mali, Libya and Burkina Faso are buying from this market,” he said.

It was equally gathered that the decline in the poultry production industry has also contributed a lot to the declining of the maize as many farms have reduced the size or even closed the companies.

However, despite that the prices of the crops are going down, some notable ones are rising. According to a dealer of sesame, Alhaji Jibrin Abdullahi, the crop has been rising from the old price of N700,000 per ton to the present N990,000. He added that in the next three to four weeks, it is expected to go above N1million.

He also said that rice was witnessing an increase in price. “Few weeks ago, rice was sold at N52,000 per bag, but now, it is over N60,000. You can see the difference,” he added.

He further said the price may rise between January and February if some of the old grains were sold out and new produce exhausted. 

Why sesame, rice prices soar

Alhaji Ibrahim Mota also said the hike in the prices of sesame and rice was due to high demand and the fact that the latter is purchased with dollars, which forces the price to keep rising. He explained that sesame, being an exportable crop, is not expected to go down as the demand is highly increasing and exporters are patronising it on a daily basis.

“Sesame is expensive because it is exported to many countries using dollars. Countries like India, China and some other African countries are buying from Nigeria. So far, the dollar is rising and the naira keeps declining, that is why it is going higher. Our sesame exportation is around N500,000 tons, that is what we supplied last year.

“The flood that affected many of the largest rice-producing states will also affect the price, not even now but in future,” he said.