Liquidation of products during the holiday period: worry

A few days before the end of the year celebrations, new displays made up of products such as pasta, drinks, appetizers and other products are visible. Opportunity for traders to make good figures. Unfortunately, illness and death also circulate on certain displays..

Month of December, the liquidation period of certain products in the markets of Benin. Lady Agatha, very early in the morning has already exposed its articles. In a soft voice and with her right hand, she appealed to a customer in the middle language, “Big sister, come and give me my gift for the holidays.. There is everything for the holidays, buying at the same time will help you”. As if to attract the customer, she threw at another person : “Come big sister, the prices are reviewed and affordable, we have already loosened the belts”. Further, Géneviève on leave to obtain her sewing diploma is at her mother's side to lend her a hand. This day, she is there rather to take out the different batches of alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, can or plastic. Proudly and with a smile, she hints that "the holidays are ahead of us. I'm on vacation. So I take advantage of this time by coming to help my mother in her business, especially since she has new merchandise. In addition to these organized and immobile vendors in the various markets, we can see in trays resting on the heads of some street vendors with the same products. The prices at the latter have also been reduced because of the period. As observed at these retailers, the party is already looking good as long as the customers are there. But the quality of these products remains the main concern..

worry

The big problem of this period is the quality and especially the expiry date of the products released on the market.. tins of sardines, tomato compote, pasta is sold at a low price. To quickly dispose of the said products unfit for consumption, the saleswomen or resellers have a strategy which consists in erasing the references of the expiration dates so that the customer does not suspect anything. And often we wait in fon in our markets "Gbadjo, wait, gbadjo” which means everyone can afford. Products worthy of good quality can be sold at such reduced prices ? Non, answers Valentin Daho electrician met at the Comè market. He justifies himself by stating “The promotion meets a certain number of standards. A product originally sold to 600 FCFA cannot be resold during this period to 300 FCFA. It's suspicious". Suspect, so also thinks lady Elizabeth G., in her fifties, mother and user of the Cococodji market. For this lady in her fifties, “In these times, you have to be very careful about the products put on sale. There is talk of promotion and liquidation but all this remains suspect. Either the products are counterfeit or have an expired or very near expiry date. You have to be really careful or even avoid these products with reduced costs but not good to consume”. She adds that "The storage conditions for these products are not even good. Moreover, they are exposed to the sun”. Yvette C. said "mom Ro" is a traveling saleswoman met in the market of Saint Michel de Cotonou she finds that "there is no danger. The products are not counterfeit or damaged”. She tries to justify herself by indicating on one of the cans the expiry date which does not exceed one month.. As for the products whose dates are no longer legible, she says "We take these products from the wholesalers at the Dantokpa market and that's how it is". Further away, we hear the voice of a young girl shouting the name and the cost of the product placed on her head. Ask by a buyer, she gets help from the latter who again asks her for the "Three to 900 FCFA” she suggests in the Fon language.

Fatality, the poetry of the world

Worrying costs, the questionable quality but the products are appreciated. Dame Elizabeth G. thinks that “the Beninese like what is cheaper and do not take quality into account”. She takes as an example the drama of a few years ago in Tori Avamè "A few years ago in Tori, we have seen what happened with people who risked their lives for spoiled products. It's incivility. We do not pay attention to what we consume, especially during the holidays when the most important thing is to buy and consume., which is a shame ", she laments. Identical situation to the Dantokpa international market. Food products remain in the spotlight and circulate on the heads of resellers. We are talking about liquidation. Wholesalers too, make their turnover. At customers, the most vigilant pay attention to the notices, the less suspicious obtain them in the hope of honoring them at end-of-year feasts. The discount is worrying and dangerous as long as the party goes well.

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