Sheep dealers within the Greater Banjul Area have lamented about low sales and complained customers are not turning up to buy rams days before the festival of Eid ul Adha, ‘Tobaski’. 

The country is in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic that has affected trading and increased prices on goods and services. 

Bunja Fofana, a Sheep dealer said customers are not turning up to buy rams for this year’s Tobaski compared to previous years, adding “Sometimes if we have limited sales, we make discount on the last days which is a lost for us or else we will have to take care of the sheep until next year.”

But the low sales could result in a hike in price, as he said “I am selling my sheep for D35,000 to D30,000 because compared to other sheep they are very big but today even if I get D27, 000 I will sell it.”

According to Mr Fofana, this year’s rise in prices for rams is as a result of scarcity of sheep in the country, adding “despite the late importation of sheep there is still scarcity.”

But Alasanna Dampha laid the blame on Kanifing Municipal Council saying “KMC adds another new payment of D500 per each sheep.”

He said: “Before we could sell our sheep we have to pay the levy which was not happening last year and when we asked them, they said it was because of the cleaning issue. This is a difficult time for all so we have to have mercy on each other.”

Abu Bah, also a sheep dealer, said people only come to inquire about prices saying “I understand that they don’t have money because of the recent situation in the country.

“So I also reduced the amount of my sheep that were costing D15,000 to D12,000 or even D11,000 just to help customers but yet still no sales,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba