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The cost of living is becoming more and more expensive for the citizen residing in the city of Niamey. During this cold period, on the markets, the abundance of vegetables is visible, but it is difficult to obtain them because of their prices which are increasing every day. This situation continues to have a hard impact on the household basket, even if we can note a downward trend on certain products.
The population of Niamey continues to face an increasingly difficult daily life. In the capital’s markets, customers complain every day about the rising prices of seasonal products, particularly vegetables. Resellers are trying to explain this situation. Abdoul Nasser, a vegetable seller at the capital’s small market, explains to us that almost all the vegetables available in the markets are imported products. “But by January, our own products will be available; the seeds have started to germinate,” he confided.
He also underlined that the price of certain vegetables has seen a considerable drop and others an exaggerated increase. This is particularly the case for onions which, according to Abdoul Nasser, are increasing in price every day. “The price of onions is only increasing compared to last week, the 50 kg bag sells for 50,000 CFA francs and the 100 kg bag sells for 80,000 CFA francs, or even 90,000 CFA francs,” he noted. .
Potatoes also saw an increase of 40% on the usual price. However, the kilogram of potato trades at 1,000F CFA, the bag at 100,000F CFA. “Just last week, it was 700F CFA per kilo and 60,000F CFA per bag,” added the young dealer. The bag of fresh okra which was 40,000F CFA is traded at 50,000F CFA, the measure of 2,500F CFA has increased to 2,750F CFA, or even 3,000F CFA.
Thus, the kilogram of garlic which sold at 2,500F, is today at 2,600F; the measurement at 7,000F and the half measurement at 3,500F. “Yet it comes from Agadez, it is the transport that is expensive and it comes with clay and all kinds of waste, we have to sort it to separate it from these impurities and after that the weight of the kilogram is decreasing,” explained Abdoul Nasser.
The price of peppers has decreased. Before, the bucket was at 4500F, today it is available at 3500F. “This is the bag that saw a drop of 10,000F, before it was 40,000F, today it is 30,000F,” he added. The price of tomatoes has also fallen. The basket was 30,000F, now it is accessible at 25,000F. The core pile which was at 700F returned to 500F. The price of a bag of cucumbers has also fallen significantly, it was trading at 25,000F but now it has returned to 7,000F.
Consumers complain about the high cost of condiments. According to Nafissa, recently vegetables have become like diamonds, they are untouchable. “It’s difficult, the budget that I used before to pay for my condiments is now insufficient for me. Everything has become expensive and it’s only getting worse every day,” she laments. “Every day, I wake up with this worry, because I can spend half the morning thinking about the menu I can make with my modest sum,” laments her friend Haoua.
Mariama Souley (Intern)
