We recorded low sales during Christmas- Say market women Pg 11 Dec 3,2007

A number of market women who constitute the bulk of traders in Accra said they recorded low sales during the Christmas festivities.
The women, who were interviewed at four major markets in Accra, namely Kaneshie, Agbogbloshie, Makola and Dome, said although the prices of goods were comparable to those of the previous year, sale of their items slowed down considerably.
They said although people thronged the markets in their numbers, they did not buy the various items in large quantities as they used to do in the past.
At the Kaneshie Market, Sister Dede who sells tomatoes at the market said most of her customers bought not more than a basket of tomatoes which she said cost GH¢3.50
She said although the price was a bit higher last year during the festivities, people bought at least two baskets as most of them stored them for use later.
Okailey who sells vegetables at the Kaneshie market said sales had been bad for her as well.
She said she used to sell ear-rings but went into the sale of vegetables in December last year after she was introduced to it by a friend and indicated that, business was then good.
According to her, however, this year she had regretted for not supplementing her business with other things such as spices, a strategy she said most people had adopted.
At the Dome market, although the place looked vibrant, most of the plantain sellers who were interviewed said people only asked of the prices of the commodity without buying.
A plantain seller, Auntie Akua, said she had to reduce her prices for most of her regular customers since that was the only way she could convince them to buy.
She said although she sold most of her plantains, she was not content with the amount of money she had.
At the Makola No.1 market, the story was the same as one market woman screamed at this reporter when asked how business was doing. She made a statement in Ga which translates to mean that, “They are not buying, they are not buying, just as you have also come to ask about prices, that is what they all do”.
At the Agbogbloshie market where most people prefer to buy their foodstuff in bulk because prices there were cheaper, market women were seen doing brisk business as people were seen hoarding away tomatoes, plantain, cassava and other foodstuffs during the holidays.
When asked how business was doing, Awonye who is a trader in foodstuffs said for her, business was good as people were buying in bulk.
She said although it was not so the previous week people were buying more plantain, cassava, garden eggs and cocoyam and she was the only person who gave this reporter a smile when she was being interviewed.
The situation also did not favour people who dealt in fowls as they also complained that sales were not encouraging.
When asked how many fowls they sold in a day during this Christmas festivities, one dealer in livestock said he sold a maximum of five birds in a day and said this was not the business he was expecting to do.
One fowl depending on the size, sold between GH¢8 and GH¢15 and people they said were complaining that it was expensive.