By: Isatou Sarr
Food prices have been fluctuating at the Brikama market for the past three months as consumers continued to complain about the soaring cost of living in the country.
Wholesale dealers have been accusing by some people of worsening the food prices issues but Baboucarr Jallow, a wholesaler at the Brikama market, said they do not have any hands in the rising cost of basic commodities.
“Instead, it arises from the supply chain. Our customers always complain that we are responsible for the hikes inprice of basic food items, which is not the case. We don’t have the authority to raise any price if it is not added on in Banjul, where we get our supplies. They have the authority to do that. If the suppliers do not raise the price, then we would not increase,” Jallowexplained in an interview with The Voice on Saturday.
Jallow said some people wrongly blame them of increasing food prices to make profit.
“We are making a profit margin of either D25 or D50 per bag of rice. A bag of Sadam rice is currently sold atD3000.00 and we pay fare from Banjul to Brikama. When we are selling it, we sell it for D3,050.00, meaning only D50 is added on, considering the transportation cost involved,” he explained.
When asked about the price variations in the past months, Mr Jallow said some prices have increased steadily while some have been fluctuating.
“Three months ago, a bag of ‘Sadam’ rice was D2,750.00. Now, in Brikama, it is costing D3,000.00. A bag of sugar is not steady as at times, the price will be low while it will be high sometimes.But right now, it is going for D2,500.00. A 20litre of groundnut oilwas trading at D1,850 three months ago and now, it is going for D2,000.00. Ten litres of palm oil was sold at D1,350.00and it’s now sold at D1,500.00. A bag of onion is now sold at D1,000.00 but two days ago, it was D900.00, and a month ago, it was sold at D650,00. Onions are different from other food stuff because they are highly perishable,” he explained.
He stated that suppliers are responsible for the pricing of commodities in relations to the tax they pay on those goods.
Awa Comma, a resident in Brikama, who was seen purchasing goods, highlighted the challenges faced in the markets.
“Prices of the basic commodities are always rising, and the problem is that whichever price goes up, it will never be decreased. We are poor Gambians living a hand-to-mouth existence. This situation keeps worsening, and we can’t do anything about that,” she stated. She continued: “We have school-going children to feed. All these are extra expenses families endure. We are calling on the authorities to look into the issue and stabilise the prices of basic commodities in the market. Honestly, we are going through hardship. We need government’s intervention in commodity pricing.”
One Lamin Banda said the only thing he can say is that “the people of the country have been experiencing the most expensive situations as far as he can remember”.
“The government must save the citizens. This is negatively impacting the lives and livelihoods of the people. Economically, you are not able to save anything for the future. It’s all consumed by daily expenses,” he added.
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