While other residents of Port Harcourt and its environ were having good time witH their family members during the Sallah holidays marking Idel-Kabir, traders in Port Harcourt, particularly those at the Rumuwoji Mile One Market have lamented the pOor turn over in sales.

The Tide’s visit to some shops and traders in Mile One Market, Wednesday, revealed that business activities at the market were affected by the celebration.

Some traders who spoke to The Tide said the market was very dull due to low sales.

A shoe seller, popularly known as “Dele” said the poor sale of the day made even his bargaining power to be low.

According to him “The low patronage we experienced has made me to sell-off some shoes far below their prices. You can imagine that I sold a shoe of N4,000 at the rate of N2,000 which I cannot even sell for N3,000 on a normal business day”.

Another belt dealer, Joseph Nda at the railway by the flyover axis, lamented that the sales were quite slow and dull.

He explained that uptill about 2.00 p.m., he had not made any sale, and because of that, he was willing to dispose his goods even at a price below the market price.

The poor sales, The Tide gathered were not only limited to household goods and wears, but also foodstuffs, as most people travelled to their villages over the Sallah holidays, which he said had affected business activities at the market.

Commenting on the market situation, Ndu Ogbondah posited that the best time to get things cheaper at the market was during  holidays, when traders were experiencing poor sales.

Corlins Walter