Traders Lament 55.5% Increase In Ram Prices

Ram vendors in the Ibafo, Kara, and Agege markets of Ogun and Lagos states bemoaned low patronage on Wednesday as Nigerians prepared for the Eid-El-Kabir holiday, attributing it to the economic downturn and growing costs.

The traders who spoke separately with our correspondents said there was a decline in patronage compared to what was applicable last year because of the hike in the price of rams in the market.

They added that the cost of sourcing the rams from the Northern parts of the country had skyrocketed and contributed to the high cost they were selling.

A trader in the Ibafo market, Rabiu Abubakar, lamented that the patronage compared to last year was not encouraging, adding that the cost of sourcing the rams from the North has affected the pricing of the rams.

Rabiu said, “If you were to be here by this time last year, you would not meet people sitting down like this. Last year’s sales were impressive, I’m telling you, but this year’s sales have been slow.’’

“The rams that we sold for N150,000 -N180,000 last year now sell for N250,000 – N280,000, which translates to a 55.5% increase. We cannot buy it cheap at Arewa and sell it at a higher price. We are pricing based on what we were able to buy, which is costlier compared to the previous year.”

Another ram seller, Sabo Sheu, corroborated the opinion of Rabiu and added that the cost of transport from the North to the West was another factor that had contributed to the rising cost.