SOKOTO— Two days to Eid-el-Kabir celebration, prices of rams and camels have gone up in some livestock markets in Sokoto State.

At the Sokoto main livestock market, Kara, prices of rams range from N15,000 to N150,000, while sheep and goats range from N10,000 to N50,000.

Cows and camels cost between N50,000 and N200,000, depending on the size and age of the animals, and the purchasing power and choice of the buyer.

Alhaji Yusha’u Chika, a trader at the Sokoto Kara Livestock Market, said: “We have enough stock of animals, but there is a lull in the market.

“Maybe there is a kind of cash crunch in the economy, though SokotoState and local government workers have been paid their October 2013 salaries.”

Salisu Musa, a trader at the Achida Livestock Market in Wurno Local Government Area, said that sales were low compared to previous years.

Another trader at the Bodinga Livestock Market in Bodinga Local Government Area, Sahabi Aliyu, said: “The situation is unlike previous years, but we are hopeful that sales will pick up as the Sallah draws nearer.”

At the Illela and Gada livestock markets, near the NigerRepublic border, the markets were flooded with the sacrificial animals from Birnin Konni and Tahoua towns of NigerRepublic.

Alhaji Musa Illela, a livestock trader in Illela, said that he was expecting sales to pick up by Sunday (yesterday) or Monday (today).

He said: “The market is currently very discouraging.”

Musa Lemu, a prospective buyer at the Sokoto Kara Market, said: “I came to the market with only N40,000 and I am yet to get the ram I can afford.

“The owner of the one I wanted to buy told me that the last price is N47,000. So, I am now searching for another ram, which I can afford with the money I have at hand.”