With less than a week to the Eid al-Adha celebrations fixed for 6th of June 2025, residents of Kano are expressing concerns about the sharp increase in the cost for essential food items, mainly spices and vegetables.

Shoppers at Rimi market said the price increase was impacting their ability to prepare for the festive period.

Ramlah Labaran Tanko, who buys spices regularly, explained the situation to Ekwutosblog , saying, “A mudu of ginger is N32,000, and I couldn’t even buy cloves and black pepper as I normally would,” she said.

“Cloves start from N200 per pack, and there aren’t more than 10 in a pack. We use a lot of spices during Sallah to prepare meat. I normally buy a lot — but now I can’t afford it.”

Similarly, another shopper, Hafsat Aliyu Buhari expressed her frustrations about the cost of vegetables, saying,  “Usually when I make stew for my family of four, I only need N500 worth of vegetables; now I have to spend at least N1,000 — and that involves serious bargaining,” she said.

For Ibrahim Aminu, a family man shopping for meat and condiments, the strain is two folds, “The price of Ram is already high. I’m struggling to afford that, and now the spices my wife asked me to get are out of my price range. The pack I usually buy for N1,000 has drastically reduced in size,” he lamented.

However, vendors at the market insist that the price hike is not directly related to the Eid celebration. Instead, they blame it on supply shortages.

Malam Adamu, a vegetables seller at Rimi market told Ekwutosblog that scarcity, not opportunism, is the root cause.

“Our supply has reduced. We don’t have enough produce on ground, and that is why the prices have surged — not because of Sallah. It won’t be good for us to raise prices when majority of people are battling economic challenges,” he said.

Dr Abdulnasir Turawa Yola, an economist with the Federal University of Dutse explains why prices skyrocket during festive periods.

“When the demand is higher than the supply, definitely the price will go up. During festive periods, prices of house consumables like spices, veggies and oil go up. This is very well known in economic theory and this is what is happening practically right now,” he said.

Eid al-Adha is a major Islamic festival during which Muslims slaughter rams and prepare elaborate dishes. This often increases the demand for food items such as spices and vegetables.

Ekwutosblog observes that many families are forced to cut down due to soaring inflation as they prepare for this year’s celebration.