By: Arret Jatta
Ramadan is just around the corner but there is trepidation in many quarters as regards the prohibitive cost of food commodities vis-à-vis Ramadan.
Virtually all commodity prices are shooting through the roof with each passing day and there appears to be no quick fix in sight to the problem.
The cost of the country’s staple-rice- is threatening to spiral out of the reach of the man in the street as the prices are way too high.
The retail and wholesale prices of oil, sugar, onions, and potatoes have also become prohibitive for the average Gambian.There are fears in lots of quarters that all these items will soonsee an increase in their current price tags as the Ramadan fast approaches.
Experts say the Government will do well to remember that no form of development will be noticeable if food prices continue to shoot up sky-high.
Market vendor Aja Binta Kinteh also a consumer shared her current predicament with The Voice as regards food prices.
“Even before Ramadan approaches, things have been hard for us in this market. The price of rice, cooking oil, and sugar are costly. Almost everything we need is costly,” she bemoaned.
Breadwinner Aja Binta was worried about the price upheavalsas she had more mouths to feed.
“The prices of foodstuff are skyrocketing and the size of our pockets are not equal. Some of us are poor, especially me,” she said.
Djily Gaye, a market vendor said the prices of everything in the market have increased, saying things are very hard in the market unlike before when prices were “stable and affordable”.
“If the price of something is D1000, now it’s D1500 or more,” he lamented.
He blamed the high cost of food prices on exporters.
“If you buy something for a very expensive price, you can’t sell it for less because you put in so much for the items to get to the market and you are also looking for your profit. So, it’s not market vendors who are making things expensive but the importers,” he explained.
Vendor Fatoumatta Njie said: “Sometimes, we the market vendors are the problem because you might buy something for a reasonable price but resell it for a very unreasonable price. We blame the government for certain things but we are the problem.”
