Sack of onion worth GH¢1,300 now selling at GH¢100 due to Benin border closure

Due to the closure of the Benin border, over 500 sacks of onion have reportedly gone bad in the Ashanti region.

The closure of the border led to a delay in the movement of the goods for several days.

The onion sellers, according to citinewsroom reports, have been forced to either dispose of the rotten onions or sell them at reduced prices.

A sack of onion which was being sold at GH¢1,300 is now being sold as low as GH¢100 at some markets in the Ashanti region.

Truck drivers said they could cross the Benin border with their fully loaded trucks of onions and other foodstuff due to the political tensions in Niger.

“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,”one of the truck drivers Seidu Sule was quoted by citinewsroom.com.

Speaking to some of the onion sellers, they noted that their losses are running into several millions of Ghana cedis.



“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,” an onion seller cried.

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.”

SSD/NOQ

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