Some female entrepreneurs in Kaduna metropolis have decried low patronage following fuel price increase across the nation which affected the prices of essential goods in the market .
The entrepreneurs ,who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews, stated that they had to adjust the prices of their products in order not to run at a loss .
Nafisa Abba, a fashion designer, stated that the hike in fuel price has affected the transportation of her goods, adding that the delivery fee to customers had also increased.
“As fuel prices rise, suppliers often pass on their increased shipping and production costs to businesses, which at the end of the day, we have to pay more for raw materials or products.
“Due to the high cost of waybill, a customer may decide to halt transaction, resulting in low patronage and decreased profit margin, ” she said.
She urged the government to reverse the fuel subsidy removal or reduce tax , provide soft loans and grants to small and medium businesses as well as regulate prices of fuel and other essential commodities.
Similarly, Aisha Obodoeze, a skin care products vendor, said that the recent development had hit hard on her business as the prices for raw materials had doubled.
She added that some of her clients could no longer afford her products due to the price review she effected on all her products, saying the situation had affected her business negatively .
On her part, Hauwa Bello ,a baker, stated that the prices of flour, sugar and butter have gone up due to the fuel price increase, saying, ” people now prefer to eat food rather than order for cakes.
“If there is no light, I can’t afford to buy fuel except in rare occasion; people now don’t patronise me like before, because I had to increase the price of my products even though the profit is nothing to write about,”she said.(NAN)
