Our onions are rotten – Importers lament impact of Niger coup

The onion importers at Kwadaso Onion Market in the Ashanti region have bemoaned the effect of the coup in Niger, and the subsequent closure of the country’s border on their onions meant for sale.

According to the importers, about 50 trucks of their onions have gone bad following the coup in the West African country.

Currently, the importers revealed that about 100 trucks of onions were locked up at the border, while 50 of them have maneuvered their way to Ghana.

Terrorist attacks on the Burkina Faso routes as well as the closure of Benin's shared border with Niger has also rendered them stranded at the borders.

According to the importers, they have had to maneuver their way through the borders of Nigeria to Ghana by paying GHS20,000 for each truck of onions to customs officers in Nigeria.

However, most of the bags of onions, due to the weeks and the number of days they spent at the borders and on their way to Ghana, have gone bad.

As a result, they say, a bag of onion that is supposed to be sold at GHS1,500 has been reduced to GHS200 while others are being sold at GHS100 due to the rotten state of the onions.

Counting his losses, Alhaji Mohammed Phobia, a Niger Onion Importer, who returned to Ghana, Monday, 27 August 2023, told Class91.3FM's Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Elisha Adarkwah, that two trucks of onions he imported have all gone bad.

He has, therefore,lost GHS60,000,000 of his working capital.

An Executive Member of the Kwadaso Onion Importers, Mr Stephen Kwarteng, said they have lost their working capital, and it will be difficult for them to return to business.

He,therefore, appealed to the government to assist them in paying their bank loans and get them back into business.