As a consequence of the Benin border closure, a reported total of over 500 sacks of onions have succumbed to spoilage in the Ashanti region.

This border closure resulted in a significant delay in the transportation of these goods, spanning several days.

In response to this situation, onion vendors, as indicated by citinewsroom reports, have been left with no choice but to either discard the deteriorated onions or vend them at significantly reduced prices.

For instance, a sack of onions that had originally commanded a price of GH¢1,300 is now being retailed for as low as GH¢100 in certain markets within the Ashanti region.

Truck drivers have attributed their inability to traverse the Benin border with fully loaded trucks of onions and other edibles to the political tensions prevalent in Niger.

“We spent ten days at the Benin border, so the onions have turned bad. Onions start to go bad within four days. The Ghana Ambassador came to intervene, which is why we were allowed to pass through the border, but it was too late. We have lost a lot of money. About 220 bags of onions have all gone bad,”one of the truck drivers Seidu Sule was quoted by citinewsroom.com.

When some of the onion vendors were contacted, they revealed that their losses were millions of Ghanaian cedis.

“Sadness has befallen us. When you are approaching the market, you will smell the scent of the onions that have gone bad. This is due to our inability to reach here on time as a result of the closure of the border. We can’t calculate the amount lost as it stands now. An onion bag that used to be sold at GHS1,300 is now five bags being sold at GH¢150. We don’t know what we are going to do. We are calling on the government to come to our aid because it’s affecting us. We pay taxes,” an onion seller cried.

Another onion seller lamented, “I’m now selling a bag of onion for GH¢100, GH¢200, GH¢500. We have sent some to the refuse dump. I will not even get my principal, not to talk about my profits. We even sent money for additional trucks when we heard that the border was opened. And here we are with so much loss.”