Salah: Ram dealers lament low patronage, as consumers groan over hike in Nasarawa

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File photo of a ram market

By Linus Ogbu, Lafia

Ram dealers in Nasarawa State have lamented low patronage, even as consumers groaned over hike in the price as Eid – el – Kabir celebration draw closer.

Checks by our Correspondent in some selected ram markets in Lafia on Monday, revealed that rams are being sold at N400, 000, N300, 000and N250, 000 respectively.

At the popular Shinge Cattle market ram sellers told our Correspondent that the reason behind the hike in commodities was due to high cost of transportation fare resulting from increment in petroleum pump price.

Alhaji Abubakar, ram seller said the hike in the price of ram was due to high cost of transportation being experienced by the dealers.

Alhaji Jubril Musa, lamented low profit margin when compare with last year’s profit due to low patronage.

“It really sad that we didn’t make much profit this year, for instance, a situation whereby you’re supposed to sell a ram on a normal day for N150, 000 with a profit of either N20,000 or N15,000 but you are now making just N5,000.

“You know how it feels, out of the rams we have right now, you will find the ones that go for N250,000 N300,000 and even N400,000 even at that there’s no much profit.

“High cost of transportation fare, charges and levies are the sole reasons for the rise in prices of rams and cows, but we do not have any choice other than to sell at this rate,” he said.

Umaru Abdullahi, another ram seller attributed high cost of ram to fuel subsidy removal that resulted to increase in pump pump price.

“Customers are not patronising us like before, animals on ground shouldn’t be here by now if we record good patronage, people are not buying, government should help us because this inflation is killing our business gradually,” he pleaded.

Mr Hassan Mamman, a civil servant, expressed sadness over high cost of rams and other commodities and urged government to help look into attending effects of subsidy removal to cushion hardship on citizens.