Ramadan: Prices of fruits skyrocket

In Kebbi State, fruit outlets and markets surveyed in Bayan Kara market and Kalgo market all in BirninKebbi showed that prices of fruits have skyrocketed byabout 150 per cent since few days before the commencement of the Ramadan fast.Small watermelons that normally sold between N30-N50 now sell for N100 and above. Also,a measure of dates […]

In Kebbi State, fruit outlets and markets surveyed in Bayan Kara market and Kalgo market all in BirninKebbi showed that prices of fruits have skyrocketed byabout 150 per cent since few days before the commencement of the Ramadan fast.
Small watermelons that normally sold between N30-N50 now sell for N100 and above.
Also,a measure of dates that sold for N200, now goes for N400 while small-sized oranges that used to go for N10 are two N50 while three tiny ones go for N50.
“In fact banana is the worst; it is such that we can hardly afford it.My husband tried to buy a small bunch that usedto be sold for N150-N200,he offered to pay N600 for it but it was not sold to him.
“Samething with Irish potatoes – a medium size paint container is now sold at N1, 200 instead of N600. It has doubled in price.
  “Any way, we are used to such increases in prices of fruits during Ramadan. Our only alternative is to cut down on our budget and manage with only some of the fruits that we can afford,” HajiyaAminaGele, a customer and mother of five, said.
Most of the fruit vendors who spoke to our reporter placed the blame on retailers who also complain of high demand for fruits during the Ramadan fast.
“The high demand for the fruits made farmers in the South who supply us to also increase their prices,” SaniKalgo, a fruit dealer said.
In Zuru, surveys in the main market and at different sales outlets revealed that apart from bananas, mangoes and guava that are produced in commercial quantities in the area, the prices of all other fruits have also risen by about 100 percent.
An agriculture expert and chairman of the Zuru Agricultural Committee, Alhaji Samaila Ikoh Dabai Seme, attributed the high price of fruits generally to lack of orchids and dependence on supplies from the southern part of the country.
“It is only the Emir of Zuru, Major General Sani Sami, that has an orchid where we have oranges produced in commercial quantity most of which is supplied to a Federal Technical College and some  few individual retailers in the state.
“We have all-season mango in Zuru, so we have more than enough supply in the state.But, even at that, the price goes up during the fasting period. Mango that sold for N20 now goes for about N50 from fruit vendors. Even the banana and watermelon that are also produced here, are sold at high prices now because we are not in the season,” he said.
He attributed the trend to lack of practice of orchids and plantations in the North, unlike in most places in the South.”Our people in the North are not used to long term investment in agriculture.Another major concern is the lack of viable seedlings to encourage farmers.That is why consumers are left at the mercy of marketers who place high prices on fruits especially during the fasting period when they are consumed most,” he said.
In Kano State fruit sellers are also enjoying a great deal of patronage since the Ramadan fast commenced. On the other hand, buyers are lamenting over the 100 percent increase in the price of fruits.
A visit to the state’s famous fruit market of Yanlemo revealed that the prices of oranges, watermelon and bananas have gone so high that most retailers couldn’t afford to buy in bulk.
“Even though we have recorded a rise in the demand for fruits, we couldn’t make bulk purchase as the price has gone very high. A medium size watermelon that sold for N150 now sells at N400,” said Audi Bello, a fruit seller along Kano eastern bypass.
Similarly, those selling in small quantities also lamentthe increase in fruit prices with the approach of the Ramadan.
MalamFatahuUsman, a fruit seller in Hotoro area of Nasarawa Local Government Area, said he had to resort to buying in small quantities rather than in bulk as, he said, the public could not afford to buy.
Similar situation obtains in Jos, the Plateau State, at the commencement of the Ramadan.Daily Trust gathered that the prices of fruits increased following low supply of the produce to the markets.
According to Maharazu Mohammed, a fruits seller at Congo junction, in Nassarawa Gwom, a bag of orange which cost N5,500 to N6,000 before the fasting period is now N7,000 while a drum of bananas which used to cost N15,000 is now N20,000. Watermelon, though, has not recorded much increase in price.
Maharazu decried the attitude of customers who, he said, complained of increase in prices, adding that “many customers are now complaining of increase in prices; some are asking why we are increasing our prices during Ramadan. We plead and explain to them that it is not our fault. We are not happy to sell at high price, though as customers they have a right to complain.”  
Another fruit seller at British-Americajunction, Murtala Umar, said the number of buyers had increased but lamented the increase in prices, giving example with a piece of pineapple that sold for N100 but is now N270, saying, “the hike in prices is affecting both the sellers and end users.Our customers are complaining, we are not happy with the increase either. This is Ramadan period and as Muslims it is expected for us to subsidise our goods because we need God’s reward in this month of salvation.”
Umar added: “It has become a tradition of the farmers and dealers. Whenever this period comes they increase their prices.”
In Abuja, the nation’s capital city, the supply of fruits has increased as a result of Ramadan fasting. However, buyers from areas like Maitama District have been forced to buy from other places because of the closure of the Farmers’ fruits Market in the area.
Prices of fruits in areas like Dutsen-Alhaji have remained relatively same. The price of pineapples is still low because of glut. The prices of oranges have also gone up a little. A basket of oranges which hitherto sold for N250 now goes for between N300 and N400 depending on the quality of the fruits .
Survey round major markets in the Federal Capital showed that the prices have responded to the fasting period in some places while the Zuba fruits market is witnessing more sales as it is the major fruits market in Abuja.