I dey very busy now and I dey hungry ooo oga. I no get food for house, money no dey. I don dey do mechanic work now because this ice block business no dey move like before because of this Harmattan weather… wait! You say na Journalist you be ko? Oya make we talk but I no get plenty time, said Abdullahi Ibrahim.
The Harmattan season occurs in West Africa between the end of November and the middle of March. It is distinguished by the same-named dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind that blows from the Sahara across West Africa into the Gulf of Guinea.
At the commencement of this season, many ice block sellers seem to struggle to make ends meet as a result of low patronage from their customers. Daily News24 spoke to some ice block retailers and producers in Kano who lamented how the harmattan weather caused a decline in their income as well as the closure of some businesses.
Abdullahi Ibrahim, an ice block retailer recently turned to his former job as a roadside mechanic, after weeks of failed attempts to sell ice blocks due to the change in weather.
Ibrahim says selling ice block has become so difficult and he really struggled to sell the commodity in November and December 2022. Subsequently, he decided to join his friends in the mechanic workshop because he had a really low turnout of customers because of the harmattan.
Ibrahim didn’t envision starting 2023 on a sad note, explaining that he isn’t enjoying the mechanic job but has to do it in order to feed his family.
“After several failed attempts to sell the ice blocks towards the end of last year, I had to quit because I could not adequately provide for my family. Before I left the business, I used to make about 17,500 in a week but when the harmattan came, business was really slow and sometimes, I barely make N500 in a day so I had to quit.
“Most of my colleagues stopped this ice block business many weeks before I followed suit. Gaskiya (truthfully in Hausa) we are facing tough times.” Ibrahim said, as he screwed a nut into a motorbike he was servicing after his Friday Juma’a prayer.
Despite availability of electricity, drop in price, Ice Block business not lucrative
It was about 2:40 pm on a cold hazy afternoon when this reporter met Hajiya Salamatu, an ice block producer as she was closing for the day. While narrating how business had gone from bad to worse, she revealed that despite the availability of electricity for more than 18 hours a day, and the decrease in the price of ice block to N15 from about N50, business is nothing to write home about.
“As I close my shop now, I will not open till the end of February because the loss I have incurred is too much. I bought a lot of materials and ice block has been ready for sale but no customers at all. The harmattan has driven our customers away many of us are out of business. Because of the weather, people are not likely to drink cold things so we have to bear the loss.
“Before, I used to sell a freezer of iceblock in less than 20 minutes but now, I spend more than 5 days to sell just one freezer. Take a look around, many people have closed their shops because the market is not moving. We have excess light for our business but it is useless to us. Even after selling the commodity at a loss, there is no impact.
“Last year, especially during the heat season we used to be choked with customers to the point that some customers who know my house come to book for ice block ahead of time. I will not resume this business till I am sure that I can make profit.” Hajiya Salamatu narrated.
Unrelenting rise in cost of production driving many out of business
The persistent rise in the cost of production has driven Madam Odunze out of the ice block business for more than 4 months. She bemoans the rising cost of materials for producing the commodity as well as the change in weather as the reason why she quit the business. She is currently into petty trade, pending when the business atmosphere for producing ice block will be conducive.
“Before, a can of gas for the freezers cost about N7,000 and N8,000 but now, it has risen to more than N40,000. The metallic sheet used to construct the fridge used to be about N3,500 but now, it is more than N10,000.
“This high cost of material is a burden and now the weather change has drastically reduced customers so there is no way I can make up for the loss so I have to quit the business.” Madam Odunze said in anger.
Oga Chidex, as he is fondly called is a technician who repairs fridges and other machines used for ice block production along Murtala Mohammed way in Kano. He has partially closed his workshop since November 2022 because a good number of ice block producers have closed down, thereby affecting his source of income
“Business is not moving and I just had to close down partially. I only go to work when I am sure that I will make some money but asides from that, I don’t go to work so that I can manage the little money that I have made.” He said.
