Farmers and marketers at the Gun-Dutse onion market in Dawakin Kudu Local government Area of Kano State, have cried out over the current ridiculous cost price of bags of onions in the North.
The traders in a video made available to newsmen are lamenting as their farm produce which was supposed to be transported to and sold at a higher price in the South are now sold at a poor price in the North.
Recall that the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) has insisted that its members won’t bring food items from the North to the South until they are sure of the safety of their members.
The union added that they prefer to suffer losses by allowing the goods to waste than to risk the lives of their members, noting that though they were concerned about the foodstuffs locked up in trucks in Jebba, Niger state, the safety and security of their members is a priority.
It also clarified that the intention of the union is not to starve southerners by refusing to supply farm produce but to protest various attacks on its members in the southern region of the country.
Naija News understands that the AUFCDN strike action had led to rising food prices in southern Nigeria. The ongoing strike by sellers of cows and foodstuff has, however, affected traders in the North as the price of foods-stuffs dropped drastically.
This strike is connected to an ultimatum given by the national leadership of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to the Federal Government which demanded compensation for the losses suffered by Northern traders in the recent mayhem at Shasha market in Ibadan, Oyo State.
However, the strike action has led to an increase in the price of food commodities in the south while in the north, the prices are plummeting.
Lamenting on the development, the farmers said they usually transport a minimum of 20 trucks to the southern part of the country on a daily basis before the strike action. According to them, the strike has affected them badly.
The largest bag of onion, which sold at N35,000 a few weeks ago and as high as N70,000 during the onion scarcity last year, is now being sold for N7,000.
