Sallah: Osun residents lament high cost of items as ram sellers smile to the bank

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

With this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration holding on Saturday, residents of Osun State are lamenting lack of money and the high cost of some essential items like ram.

Although prices of these items have been on the upward swing steadily in the recent past, an additional 200 per cent increase has nonetheless been noticed this year.

It was learnt that livestock traders, terrified of buying in large quantities and not being able to sell at the end of the day, buy according to pre-order,

Mr. Isiaka Adedokun, a ram seller at Testing Ground area in Osogbo, said: “Everything has changed. The rams we bought for N120,000 last year, are now worth between N250,000 and N300,000. We also have those of N270,000 to N280,000. 

“Many people pre-ordered them. This is our third journey to bring these animals. We have bought some animals and reared them before the festival period, but it has now escalated. The least price of ram is N50,000, people are buying them though. May God help us.”

Another trader at Stadium area of Osogbo, Lateef Aderibigbe, said the cost of transporting a trailer load of rams has jumped from between N200,000 and N300,000 last year to between N900,000 and N1million this year.

“Despite the hike in price, people still patronize us. Our price range is determined by what we buy. Last year, the cost of transporting a trailer load of livestock was N200,000 -N300,000, but it is between N900,000 -N1million this year. And we can’t say the exact number of livestock we will see therein. It is when we know the number that are in the trailer that we distribute prices on them,” he said.

Aderibigbe added that whatever losses they experience, such as injury or death of the animals, would be borne by the sellers and that may affect the overall cost.

Furthermore, a trader from the Northern part of the country, Muhammad Shaifullahi, said the price of rams starts from N70,000 to N300,000 while that of goats starts from N25,000 to N30,000. 

In the same vein, a tomatoes seller at Orisumbare market, Mrs. Nimota Olasupo said there was no way people would not buy pepper during the festive period no matter how high the price may be.

She said that the price of a small basket of tomatoes was N1,000 before but now sells for between N1,200 to N1,500. 

According to her, the increase in the price of pepper was as a result of transportation cost.

Another pepper seller at the same market, Mrs. Aisha said: “A basket of tomatoes used to be between N1,200 and N1,600, depending on where you are buying from, but it is now N2,000. Bawa is N5,000 and a basket of Rodo (pepper) is N4,000.”

At Alekuwodo market, also visited by our correspondent, a foodstuff seller, Mrs. Raji said people were yet to start coming in large numbers to patronise them. She said that their major complaint was lack of money.

According to her, price of a bag of rice has increased due to demand during the festive period. Raji said the price of foreign rice has increased to N30,000.

She said that prices of Semovita has also increased with a10kg bag selling for between N5,500 and N6,000, 5kg between N3,200and N2,800, depending on the products.

Mrs. Raji added that Spaghetti now sells for between N6,500 and N7,200 depending on the type while 25 litres of palm oil has increased from N18,000 to N21,000 and 25 litres of groundnut oil from N30,500 to N33,500.