Since the policy took effect, the scarcity of both the old and new naira notes has affected businesses in the country.
Some traders who sell food items and perishable agricultural produce in Nigeria’s capital city have lamented the losses they incurred due to the scarcity of naira notes in the country.
In a market survey conducted by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), the traders explained how they have recorded losses in their businesses in recent time as customers face difficulties accessing cash to buy food items.
Although some of the traders adopted the use of electronic transfers in some of the markets, many of them complained about network challenges during online transactions while others do not even have bank accounts.
The most affected category of traders, the survey showed, are those who sell perishable food items such as tomatoes, vegetables, pepper, fruits, among others.
Multiple interviews with traders in the market showed that in recent weeks, many of them have had to slash the prices of their goods in order to minimise losses due to poor patronage.
“I do not have many sales this period; many customers are not coming to the market. I have to reduce the price of my fruits so as to sell them out immediately, if not, many of them will spoil,” Usman Mohammed, a fruit seller in Kubwa market, said.
Background
In October 2022, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced the introduction of new N200, N500 and N1000 notes.
Mr Emefiele said that the decision would address cases of kidnapping, terrorism and other financial crimes.
However, since the policy took effect, the scarcity of both the old and new naira notes has affected a lot of businesses in the country.
The situation further worsened the problems being faced by traders in the market, especially due to the challenges of inadequate storage facilities that lead to post-harvest losses.
Salusi Sanni, a trader at Arab market, Abuja, said he loses about N3,000 to N4,000 daily due to poor sales and damaged farm produce, ostensibly due to the cash crunch.
“During this period, my goods spoil every day because I don’t sell much and people are not buying. Like these tomatoes, before tomorrow morning, many of them will spoil. Look at the floor, those ones spoiled yesterday, I separated them this morning,” he said.
source: premiumtimesng
