The price of fresh tomatoes has fallen drastically in Benin thanks to the closure of the land border with Nigeria, where the main buyers of the produce come from.
By Ulvaeus Balogoun
In Benin, it is the high season for tomato but producers and resellers are struggling to sell their produce.
The price of a tomato basket was cut to half after Nigeria’s decision to close its land border with Benin.
The adverse effect of this measure is being felt in the capital’s markets, Cotonou, and in the hinterland.
Laurent, a tomato farmer in the town of Grand-Popo, came to the Dantokpa market with a truck laden with 200 baskets of tomatoes sold at CFA1,000 CFA each.
However, Laurent does not rub his hands gleefully.
“When the borders were still open, we sold the basket of tomatoes between CFA5,500 and CFA6,000. Today there is all round despair. Even at CFA1,000, it is hard to find buyers,” he laments.
The farmer who could only sell 70 baskets out of the 200 sent to the market fears that unsold tomatoes which are perishable items will eventually rot and go to waste.
If wholesalers such as Laurent are not enjoying good business, it’s because they almost do not see any resellers, which are an essential link in the marketing chain.
Active in the market, Dame Emilienne is a disoriented dealer.
She says: “In the past, Nigerians were not begged to buy everything. But today, this is not the case. The baskets, which were sold at CFA7,000 or CFA8,000, are sold at CFA1,300 or even CFA800. Even with that, there are no buyers. It’s very sad.”
Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui, the Minister of Agriculture, on Tuesday visited the markets to learn firsthand about the impacts of the closure of the border was unleashing on commercial activities there and talk with the stakeholders in this sector about measures to be taken to tackle them.
For now, measures are being explored for alternative solutions.
Benin intends to turn to the countries of the Sahel, the Maghreb and Asia to sell its tomato produce.
In addition, the government will find solutions for the proper conservation of tomatoes and the establishment of processing plants.
Tomato is one of Benin’s main vegetable produce with a total output of more than 200,000 tonnes every year.
Tomato is grown across the country and enjoys, in some places favorable climes and helpful soil conditions.
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