KISII: A major market in Kisii County is facing a significant economic downturn as local business men express frustration over drastically reducing prices coupled with lack of buyers. Traders at Daraja Mbili market in the outskirts of Kisii town, Kitutu Central Sub-County, Kisii County, are now expressing concern over poor business saying they are unable to sustain their lives.
According to Kenya News Agency, a spot check revealed an alarming drop in prices of various food produce including cabbages, bananas, onions, potatoes, and carrots except for tomatoes which had slightly gone up. Prices of a sack of potatoes had dropped from sh. 6000 last month to sh. 3000 this month, a bunch of bananas was sh.70 from sh. 100, while tomatoes had risen from sh. 5000 per crate to between sh. 6000 and sh. 6500.
One vendor, Janet Obare, lamented the plummeted prices to a mere sh. 20 from sh. 70, yet there are few customers. “I fear that if the situation does not improve, I may have to consider other means of supporting my
family,” said Obare. A banana vendor, Lilian Moraa, noted that the prices of the produce had gone down with increased production, yet its market was poor. Similarly, Everline Kerubo, a potato vendor, stated that the prices had dropped from sh. 6,000 to sh. 3,000 per sack, but there were still no buyers.
Joash Mong’are, an onions trader, said that last month, onions were going at sh.120 per kilogram, unlike the current sh.90. Buyers complained of the high cost of living, saying that even salaried employees were struggling to cope with it. Grace Kemunto mentioned that her salary was not enough to meet all her basic needs. “It does not make sense for me to buy tomatoes, pilipili hoho, and dania when I can only add oil to my Sukuma wiki and it is cooked,” she said.