The Benin border restriction, which prevented the transportation of onions, among other commodities for several days, have left many rotten in the Ashanti Region. The onion dealers are assessing their losses after discovering that more than 500 bags of onions that were offloaded from trucks have gone bad.
The spoiled onions are either thrown away or sold to merchants at a discount. A sack of onions that was once priced at GH 1,300 is now available in the Anloga Onion markets for as little as GH 100.
Seidu Sule, one of the truck drivers, said in an interview that the items, including food, were stuck in trucks at the Benin border for days as a result of the instability in Niger that led to the closure.
READ ALSO: Ghana’s Position In Happiest Countries In Africa 2023 Will Shock You
“We spent ten days at the Benin border, so the onions have turned bad. Onions start to go bad within four days. The Ghana Ambassador came to intervene, which is why we were allowed to pass through the border, but it was too late. We have lost a lot of money. About 220 bags of onions have all gone bad.”
“Sadness has befallen us. When you are approaching the market, you will smell the scent of the onions that have gone bad. This is due to our inability to reach here on time as a result of the closure of the border. We can’t calculate the amount lost as it stands now. An onion bag that used to be sold at GHS1,300 is now five bags being sold at GH¢150. We don’t know what we are going to do. We are calling on the government to come to our aid because it’s affecting us. We pay taxes.”
READ ALSO: EOCO, Nigeria EFCC sign MOU to fight boarder crimes
Another onion seller lamented, “I’m now selling a bag of onion for GH¢100, GH¢200, GH¢500. We have sent some to the refuse dump. I will not even get my principal, not to talk about my profits. We even sent money for additional trucks when we heard that the border was opened. And here we are with so much loss.”
