Concerns about low sales and skyrocketing pricing have been voiced by vendors and purchasers at the Nsawam cassava and plantain market in the Nsawam-Adoagyire Municipality of the Eastern Region.
Many traders expressed their dissatisfaction with the escalating prices of poor roads and expensive transport during an interview. “The prices of goods are high, and the market is low.” Particularly after it rains, the roads from Asuboi to Mangoase are appalling.
When drivers refuse to use the route, we are forced to use motorbikes. Cars charge us between 300 and 350 cedis for even minor loads,” a dealer bemoaned. A different dealer clarified that farm-sourced goods are now significantly more expensive.
“We pay 70 cedis for bunches of plantains, but we have to sell them for about 90 cedis after transportation and other costs. When customers complain, we occasionally sell it for the same price we paid for it,” the woman stated. “We perform seasonal jobs.
There are additional food sources, such as cassava and plantains, during the rainy season. People continue to refuse to purchase, nonetheless, since they find the cost of goods to be exorbitant. A trader said, “We have to pay for the mode of transportation when we get the produce from the farms to get it to the market.”
Even though plantains and cassava are readily available during the rainy season, the exorbitant cost has frustrated both buyers and sellers.”The items are really pricey. You bring a lot of money to the market and go home with very little food.”
“I sometimes hold those who sell in our different communities responsible. They get goods at a discount from the market, but later raise the prices at home’, she added.
Mercy Addai Turkson
