From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

Beans Market, Abuja, is another specialised market for beans and related staples such as  sorghum,  wheat and corn.

Every Monday and Tuesday, which are the market days, the place buzzes with people  from all walks of life.

The market gets its biggest patronage from   Cameroon, Benin and other African countries.

Besides providing a rendezvous for people with common needs, the market has storage facilities for products that are not for immediate consumption. Other activities such as de-stoning, chaff removal, bagging and re-bagging of products also take place in the market.

Located along the Abuja-Keffi Expressway, Beans Market is patronised by the high and the low. Government functionaries, wives of military officers, aides to parliamentarians, business moguls and tycoons also visit the market because of its peculiarity and affordable products.

Another group of persons who visit the market is food vendors and the end users  in Abuja and outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to a major dealer in the market, Mr. Thomas Philibus, the market rose from the ashes of the fall of Borno State due to insecurity. Most of the operators in the market migrated from Borno State and established the market, which is now serving Nigerians and  citizens from Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

He said: “I am a dealer in beans. I can sell and store for more than three years. We came from Borno State. We were displaced from Borno State and we settled to do business here.

Related News

“Our market days are Mondays and Tuesdays. Many people know here. House of Representatives members and the agriculture minister have visited us here and many ‘big men’ come here to buy beans.

“We store the beans for people who don’t have immediate use for them. We also store for market speculators who resell when the price of beans is high.

“We store a bag of beans for N200 a year and we have different types of beans at different prices. For instance, we have drum beans, iron beans, honey beans and Indian beans.

“During harvest time, we sell a bag of beans between N25,000 and N30,000 but out of season, when the product is scarce, we can sell a bag for between N40,000 and N50,000.

“Honey beans are of high quality and has the highest price, followed by drum beans, iron beans and Indian beans, in that order. Our biggest customers are Yoruba people. They  come all the way from the west to patronise us.”

Food vendors attest to the affordability of the products in the market. Alice Bunzum, a food vendor who operates along Nyanya Road, said that she  buys beans from the middlemen. This is why her profit margin is low compared to the middlemen who buy truckloads of the products.

“Those who buy in bags are the people that enjoy the business. I don’t have huge money to buy in bags and store. Customers that buy wholesale make more money. We are helping them to do their business,” she said.

Madam Dorcas Illiya, a beans seller in Nyanya, disclosed that she was not fulfilled with the level of her business. She aims to start buying the product in bags to make more money.

“I am just doing this business for people who buy this product in bags. Some ‘big’ people in the civil service buy this product, store them, sell and make big money. They receive salary from their offices, invest it in beans business and make huge profit from us, the retailers. If I could borrow from anybody, I would make more gains, but my problem is capital” she lamented.