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The Largest grain market in West Africa, located in the ancient city of Kano, the Dawanau Market Development Association (DMDA), has refuted allegations that the DMDA is buying and hoarding food items.
The association stated that these allegations are disinformation and misinformation aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the market.
The association called on the Federal Government to intervene by renovating the rail transport system to ease the transportation of goods and enhance the activities of the inland dry ports.
President of the International Grains Market, Alhaji Muttaqa Isah, made this known on Saturday during an international press conference. He stated that the market does not hoard food items, as the business does not support it.
“Another issue is the shortage of these food items in some areas affected by insecurity. Production in those places has drastically reduced from what used to obtain in the past.
He disclosed that “A standard rail transport system should be put in place to break the jinx of high transportation costs experienced by transporting the items by road. This will enhance the activities of the inland dry ports and ease market operations.”
The Association hereby calls the attention of the general public to understand that we are dealers of items having an average daily turnover of N30 billion. Farmers from far and near bring their products here, which we buy and sell wholesale for exports and other industries alike. We buy and sell and cannot possibly hoard.
According to him, “We in the market deal in large quantities of food items purchased directly from farmers across the north and exported to some West African Countries, Europe, and Asia in very large quantities.”
They don’t deal in processed food items from production companies but rather serve as the source for their raw materials.
We travel far and wide to buy these goods from the farmers for which we pay for transportation, the price of which has risen by over 100 percent.
“The rise in prices of these items that include paddy rice, maize, millet, sesame, ginger, and hibiscus is added by the cost of transporting them from the source.
“We cannot logically engage in hoarding of these items just to raise their prices in the market. The prices are directly affected by the prevailing market forces,” he stated.
Alhaji Isah then called on the public to dismiss such allegations doing the round, accusing them of hoarding the food items to raise the prices of goods, saying they are dealers and don’t sell in small quantities.
He, however, explained that the prices of food items are affected by market forces resulting from the rise in the prices of fertilizer, pesticides, and other farming requirements whose prices have soared very high.
He also lamented how insecurity has affected the production of some crops in affected areas of the country as well as the cost of transporting the items from the farm to the market.
Alhaji Isah noted that “Following a recent rise in the prices of food products across the country, misinformation and disinformation have taken over the public terrain concerning our operations, and we are wrongly accused of hoarding food items.
He added that “We do not buy goods or after-products from industries; we rather buy our items directly from the farmers to sell to the public.”
He disclosed that “These items are produced and sold to us by farmers who sell based on how they produce it where the prices of fertilizer, pesticides, and other services have soared high.
“We wish to use this opportunity to call on the Nigerian government to come into this to modify and regulate the activities for better output.
He, however, promised that “We will continue to try our best as dealers in these essential commodities to ensure that a stop is not only put to the soaring of prices of goods but is also reduced to the nearest minimum.”
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