Revealed: Reasons Prices Of commodities Are High During Christmas Season

I don't know about other West African countries, or considering in Africa at large, but in Nigeria, I have realized that the exorbitant rate of commodities works exceptionally well during the Christmas season. Shoppers and traders grapple with the high price.

Consequently, speaking the minds of people, traders tend to sell things at a higher rate, most times when you find out it's unreasonable and uncalled for. Though Christmas aside that it's a time for sober reflection about the gift of God to mankind especially to Christians, some may have different views. 

At the same time, it has become a period where a greater percentage of the population suffers from heart jerks. The reason is for the untold hardship they are going to battle with during this period. Most average Nigerian families would go into unforeseen and inevitable indebtedness.

Speaking on this subject matter, I can't believe the hype. The price during Christmas and Boxing day sales are often higher than other times during the year. For instance, just a few weeks before Christmas, I walked up to a nearly a petty store and bought an Oral-B toothpaste. Though I have witnessed the instability in the prices of products as such over the years, so I still didn't mind making purchases like some of us, who would have no other choice.  I could remember when Oral-B toothpaste was sold at a rate as low as one could afford. Could you imagine that the price had been skyrocketed during Christmas when my father requested the same toothpaste brand?

I know most of us have suggested or would do so, that there should be some kind of laws that could be implemented to regulate a certain number of units in the market at the recommended retail price (RRP) to favor consumers. Of course, there has been an agency as such or something. There are so many questions yet to be answered especially when it boils down to good governance in our country. 

Well, on the other hand, we could find out why the price of commodities are quite that high during this season if we could have a review on the following (Note there may be no consideration over the period of world pandemic as a factor to this regard):

Most Factories shut down during Christmas. The implication of this is that Thousands of workers will remain at home. Most workers in some of these luxury production firms will start their extended Christmas break in mid-month of December and the factory will not return to production till late January.

In most cases, workers are given up to a month off over Christmas due to falling in sales. While some could be an extra three days in the month, between January 9 and 12 with the present gloomy economic outlook.

We are caught up in the decision to closing the border because production halts owing to the fact that workers do travel to meet family members. Hence inflation in the price of goods in the market. Transportation becomes unreasonably expensive. The current trends of rising in prices at this time of the year can be foreseen that transport fares tend to be escalated by as much as 30-40% or more as we are speaking and this could cause a whole of inconveniences to many Nigerians to travel or convey goods to terminals. 

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Recently it reveals that bus prices are already at an average of N12,000 from Lagos to Abuja, and N8,000- N9,000, from Lagos to places in the Eastern region aside from the speculation of COVID-19.

Besides the reasons earlier highlighted, there are other reasons. You could do well to drop yours as you leave your comments just below and do well to follow me up as you click on the follow-up column.

We hope for a better Nigeria in the future but the change begins with us.

Thanks for reading.