Camel sellers in Kano State are smiling home or perhaps to the banks with millions of naira as residents are trooping in to buy camels as the prices of rams, which are the common livestock killed during Sallah festivals have skyrocketed beyond what many residents can afford.
On Friday, Kofar Na’isa livestock market in the metropolis, it was noticed that camel sellers were making brisk business and dominated the selling points hitherto used by cows and ram sellers in previous years.
At one of the stalls still selling rams, Idris Illiyasu, a ram dealer from Sokoto, decried the low sale. He said the soaring cost of rams is the reason he was finding it difficult to get customers.
Mr Illiyasu said the prices of the rams start from N40,000 to N105,000. He said the rams selling at N105,000 were sold for N90,000 last year.
“Rams selling at N50,000 now were sold at N35,000 last year,” Mr Illiyasu said.
“The surprising thing about this year’s rams market is that there is no panic buying as the Sallah celebration approaches, unlike in the previous years.
“As the Sallah approaches, the prices of rams remain higher while the buyers are shrinking,” Mr Illiyasu said.
“I have been a ram dealer, coming to Kano for over a decade, but this is the year I witnessed such high cost of rams in all the years I have been engaging in the business,” Mr Illiyasu added.
Muslims across the world use rams to celebrate Eid-el Kabir festival because it attracts the highest reward when compared to other livestock.
It Is recommended that one use a ram for the sacrifice provided one can afford it, the next in the reward is a cow.
Islam also recommends animals like the sheep, he-goat, and she-goat which are relatively cheaper than the ram, cow, and camel.
A survey of Kano livestock market suggests that the prices of cows have also skyrocketed.
Even when groups of people contribute to buying cows, the cost still places a huge financial strain on them.
Halliru Diso, a cow dealer in the Kofar Na’isa livestock market, also complained about the increasing cost of the livestock.
He said cows are sold for between N250,000 and N1 million.
The cows are brought in from places like Yobe, Borno, and Bauchi. He said others are imported from the Niger Republic.
Compared with last year’s Sallah festival, Mr Diso said prices have almost doubled.
Mr Diso blamed the high cost on the instability of the naira.
Another cow dealer, Ado Garba, also attributed the high price of cows to the cost of transportation.
“Previously we used to transport a cow at the cost of N4,000 from the North-east to Kano but now a cow is being transported at the cost of N20,000 this determines the prices because we cannot sell at a loss,” Mr Garba said.
While ram and cow dealers lament, camel sellers are glad as more customers are buying the livestock from them. Dan’azumi Alka, a camel dealer, said more people are buying camels because they are affordable.
He said unlike the cows, the camels are cheaper because of the nature of the pasture upon which they feed on, the camels can survive on grasses and any available leaves and can stay longer without feeding and drinking water.
On the prices of the camels in the Kano market, Mr Alka said the price ranges from N150,000 to N500,000.
“We have sold more camels priced at N150,000 to N270,000 than any other price range. I believe that people return to the camel because of the value for money as a camel of N200,000 has more meat than a cow of 400,000,” Mr Alka said.
“From the start of the Sallah markets, we have sold more and rushed back to the market for about five trips now, there is nothing we can say unless we are grateful to God for the patronage. We are buying the camels from Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, and the Niger Republic.”
Buyers speak
The buyer, Aminu Musa, said the camel is cheaper than the cow and ram and the camel has more meat.
“A camel you can buy for N200,000 is equivalent to a cow of N500,000 in meat quantity. For me, I prefer to buy the camel instead of the cow or a ram to reach more people by sharing the meat.”
Another buyer, Abubakar Haruna, said he resorts to the camel because of the meat in it.
“The prices of the cows and rams are always higher but the meat is not enough to share with the households, but with the camel, I am okay with the price and the volume of the meat,” Mr Haruna said.
(PREMIUM TIMES)
