*Livestock sellers have decried the high costs of rams in the markets, lamenting the prices are ‘outrageous and beyond the reach of the common man’

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As Nigerian Muslim faithful prepare to celebrate the 2022 Eid-el-Kabir, also known as Sallah this weekend, livestock sellers have decried the increasing costs of rams in Abuja, FCT, and other retail markets in the country.

Several ram sellers at Dei-Dei livestock market in the FCT, Friday, July 8, attributed the increase in prices to transportation and insecurity, agency report said.

Eid-el-Kabir is an annual religious festival observed by Muslim faithful across the world.

Idris Ibrahim, Chairman, Livestock Marketers Association at Dei-Dei Market, said: “I have never witnessed high cost of rams in this market like it is this year.

“We sold a single ram at a million naira just a few days ago.”

Muhammadu Jamilu, another marketer, was also quoted to have said the increase depended on the size of the livestock.

“A ram that we sold at N20, 000 in 2021, is now being sold for between N50,000 and N70,000 this year and those sold at N50,000 now cost N80,000 to N100,000,’’ Jamilu said.

According to the livestock dealer, an average size of ram currently go for N90,000 to N150,000, while big sizes are between N190,000 and N250,000 and above.

Jamilu said that the minimum price for smaller ones in the market goes for N50,000 and above, adding that the increase was not limited to rams but other livestock, such as cows and goats.

He also attributed the hike in prices to high cost of transportation and other factors, a development he believed was connected to the current high inflation rate in the country.

“In the past, we pay N300,000 to transport livestock per lorry from Jigawa or Katsina, but it costs about N500,000 to N600,000 now,’’ Jamilu said.

Criminal activities and cattle rustling in some parts of the country, he noted, have also affected the availability of livestock and their prices.

In his comment on the market development in this season, Yusuf Mohammed, a middle-aged trader at Wuse market Abuja, who said he inherited the business from his parents lamented low patronage.

Mohammed recalled: “The market used to be very busy during this period, but it is so quiet this time.”

According to him, the low turnout of buyers may be due to the high cost of livestock feed which may be an additional cost on the buyers if they buy the animals early.

Dada Ahmed, a public servant, said that although the prices of rams and other livestock are usually high during this period, “the prices this year are outrageous and beyond the reach of the common man.

“I usually travel to my home town to celebrate Sallah, but I will celebrate it here this time.

“I cannot afford to buy any ram, it is too expensive.”

However, Zayyanu Haruna, one of the marketers at Dei-Dei market, said prices of rams might drop on the eve of Sallah because some marketers come annually from different neighboring countries.

Haruna noted: “Marketers from different parts of the country and neighboring countries usually storm the markets with their products at the eve of Sallah every year and this crashes prices of livestock.”