By Lauretta Johnson.
Barely three days to Eid-el-Kabir Sallah celebration, ram sellers are lamenting low sales in some markets in Adamawa.
Markets on Sunday reports that few customers were seen patronising the sellers compared to the previous years.
Malam Ladan Muhammad, Sarkin Tike of Tashan-Sani livestock market, attributed the low patronage to the economic hardship being faced by customers.
According to him, some of the customers also attributed the non-payment of salary and high cost of living as factors responsible for their non-patronage.
Muhammad also said the price of the rams was on the high side compared to 2022, because of the high cost of animal feeds, transportation and insecurity.
He added that a lot of the dealers have been forced out of business because of the aforementioned factors.
Muhammad said the current prices of rams available for customers depended largely on their sizes, saying they ranged from N30,000 to N270,000.
He however expressed optimism that more customers would troop out the moment they received their salaries.
Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, a ram agent, also confirmed the low patronage by customers, saying it has negatively affected his income.
Sadiq also expressed confidence that the situation would change for the better as soon as workers start receiving their salaries.