Sallah: Customers Lament High Cost of ram

Inspite of the cash crunch in the country, prices of ram have remained very high in Kano, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.Investigations by NAN at Dawanau, Unguwa Uku, Makole and Yan’awaki ram markets in the city on Tuesday showed that only a few customers were seen trying to purchase the animals even with the Sallah festival barely two days away.
Some of the customers, who spoke with NAN, said the prices were too high compared to last year.
The prices ranged between N25,000 and N80,000 this year as against N20, 000 and N75, 000 during the same period last year in all the markets visited.
A customer, Malam Manu Ali, who was seen bargaining over the price of a medium sized ram at Makole market, lamented the high cost of the animals at the market.
Ali, however, expressed hope that the prices would crash with the commencement of the celebration on Thursday.
Another customer at Dawanau market, Isah Gezawa, said he was unable to buy a ram due to the high cost of the animals.
‘’I have now decided to wait until after the Eid prayer on Thursday so that I can get it at a cheaper rate,’’ he said.
Reacting to the development, a spokesman for the ram sellers in the state, Alhaji Auwalu Fari, attributed the rise in prices on the high cost of breeding livestock and the general cash crunch in the country.
Fari said those breeding the animals also wanted to break even in order to get money to take care of their family needs.
Another ram dealer at Dawanau market, Nura Husaini, said, ‘’we are not making much profit because of the high cost of transporting the animals.’’
Sanusi Malam, a ram seller, said that a medium size ram which cost N20,000 last year was now being sold at between N30,000 and N35,000.
Malam said the situation had scared customers away from buying ram, saying that many of them had either settled for goats or decided not to slaughter any animal for the Sallah.
He blamed the increase in the prices of the sacrificial animal to low importation from neighbouring countries.