The past week has seen a rise in the demand for food commodities preparatory to tomorrow’s Eid-el-Kabir Muslim festival. It has indeed been a good time for traders across the country, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN.
The frenzy.The mega sales. And the extra profits. This is indeed, the highpoint of this year’s shopping for the yearly Muslim festival, Eid-el-Kabir.
Although there has been a huge build up to this, the trend will continue into the early hours of tomorrow as Muslim faithful go into last-minute shopping to mark the special occasion. This season offers Muslims the opportunity to reflect on God’s fulfilment of his covenant through the Prophet Mohammed (SAW), hence, the reason for the celebration, which is usually observed with pomp and pageantry.
From the ram market to clothing and food ingredients, business has boomed all the way. And while the traders are smiling to the bank, making extra money, the shoppers are groaning, parting with more money for commodities at this time. Expectedly, there has also been an upsurge in economic activities in and around major markets across the Lagos Metropolis where items for the celebration are being displayed.
Market places are thronged more by people, who have their eyes on getting the best Sallah deal, looking for relatively cheap items to buy. They are rqually characterised by customers and traders haggling for the best deals to strike.
Consequent upon this upsurge, there has been an upward adjustment of prices of consumer goods and other gift items. Already, there has been intense competition among shopping malls and gift shops. To these outlets, festive periods such as Sallah is an opportunity to make more money.
Ram, the most important item for the celebration, has had a sharp increase in its price. A market survey conducted by The Nation Shopping revealed that ram prices range from N25, 000 to N150, 000. These are rams, which ordinarily would have sold for between N8, 000 and N40, 000.
A small basket of pepper goes for between N700 and N800 each, while the big ones sell for N6000. Other categories of pepper range from N1, 000, N2, 000 to N2, 500. Yam flour (Elubo’ in Yoruba) sells for N3, 000 per container, while Garri retains at its usual price of N250 and N300 respectively for a four litre container, while a bag of same sells for N4,500. 1Kg of Semovita costs N2000 and a carton of tin tomato paste sells for N1, 300. A 25kg bag of rice goes for N8,000, five-litre vegetable oil sells for N1,400 and 25-litre for N6,000. “All these prices were before the rush for sallah shopping,” said a woamn who wished for anonymity, adding: “From the market survey, the commodities have increased in prices by about 75 per cent at this period.”
A buyer, Ibrahim Musa, lamented this year’s cost of rams. Although, according him, it is a yearly ritual to have prices inflated at sallah period, but he was stunned that prices went over the roof top. For instance, an average ram, which he said cost him about N35, 000 last year, sells for N68, 000.
In a similar vein, a housewife, Mrs. Sherrifatu Alimi, who spoke with The Nation, at the popular Mile 12 market in Lagos, lamented that cost of cooking ingredients such as pepper and tomatoes have doubled their original cost.
Some traders said this year’s commodities are slightly higher than usual and blamed it on the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern part of the country. The excuse appeared plausible, considering the fact that they are brought from the region, Niger and Chad Republics.
The implication of this, according to a ram trader, Mallam Rabiu, is that traders have had to device other more expensive means and routes to bring the rams and other food items to be sold for the sallah to the southern markets. “We now take other routes to bring these rams; and they are more expensive because of the risk involved. Even the trailers we use to bring them have increased their charges, so the customers have to bare the extra cost as well,” Rabiu explained in a passable English.
Observers said those who are yet to make purchases, may be delaying till the last minute in order to get cheap bargains. This is because the prices of rams usually crash on sallah days, as the sellers get agitated , realising that the cost of feeding the rams would be borne by them if they are not sold. Besides, the overhead to be incurred by them from ground rent to keep the rams would erode their profit. And since some people have realised this, they usually capitalise on getting good bargains, but not without a tough price haggling with the sellers.
Noticeable was the slow start in the shopping spree, a situation that has been blamed on the reality of the economic downturn. However, it has still not taken away the hustle and bustle, which characterise markets at times like this. Most markets experience several shovings by prospective buyers to get through crowdy markets where sellers display items that attract shoppers attention.
Oshodi market, for instance during festivities, gets busier by the minute. Teeming shoppers walk on the pavements outside the shops or try to cross the express way in search of what to buy. The blaring horns from cars and taxis can be deafening. Indeed, the usual upsurge in human and vehicular traffic in major markets and shopping places at festivite period, can hardly go unnoticed. Such increased tempo of activities makes the celebration tick.
“As Nigerians continue to do their last minute shopping in preparation for tomorrow’s festivity, the best icing on the cake would be the announcement of the release of the over 200 Chibok Secondary School girls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents about six months ago,” said an anonymous Muslim faithful.
