Kano Traders Lament As Ice Block Price Crashes

Prices of ice blocks in the Kano metropolis have crashed from N700 to N150 due to the sudden appearance of hazy and mild weather which residents had begun to experience since last Sunday.

Last week, a white “Santana package of ice block” was sold for between N600 and N700 while a piece of sachet water popularly known as “pure water” was sold at between N200 and N300 due to high demands during the ongoing Ramadan fast and scourging sun amid epileptic power supply.

A check by LEADERSHIP Friday in some locations within the metropolis showed that the price for the commodity dropped significantly and a sachet of “pure water size ice block” sold for between N100 and N150 while the “Santana leather size” ice block now sells for between N150 and N250 depending on the location.

The product sellers often mount their sacks on roadside between the hours of 3.00pm and 6.00pm.

 and make brisk sales as many residents patronize them due to intense heat caused by epileptic power supply and Ramadan fast which usually holds between March and April when the weather is always at 40⁰Celsius.

An ice block seller on Katsina Road, Halima Aliyu, who is into the business for the fourth year, said she bought a bag at the rate of N1,000 (N50 per sachet water) and sells for N2,000 at present.

According to her, in the previous week, she sold it for as high as N250 each which amounted to about N5000 per bag.

She said last week when the weather was very hot, she sold an ice block for as high as N700, but now the price has crashed due to the weather and low demand.

 Umar Hamza, who operates a cold store at the Asada Small Scale Enterprise, lamented low sales amid the changing weather.

He said, “On a daily basis last week, I stocked 300 bags of pure water in my cold room and sold everything and there will still be demands. We sold for as high as N2,000 per bag, but this week. it is being sold for as low as 700 and we still don’t sell it all till the next day.