High Prices Of Beans, Oil Send Kano Akara Sellers Out Of Business

By Abdullahi Yusuf

Most sellers of Bean cake (Kosai) in Kano Metropolis have run out of business due to the prevailing high prices of beans and cooking oil in the area.

Kosai, also known as Akara in some other parts of the country, is a staple delicacy mostly consumed for breakfast in many parts of the North, including Kano State.

The stuff, has, however, gone beyond the reach of the ordinary person in recent times, as most of its makers in the state can no longer produce it due to the prohibitive cost of its essential ingredients – beans and groundnut oil.

Beans now cost between N3,800 and N4,200 per measure, depending on the variety found in the market, while groundnut oil which is commonly used to fry the bean cake, sells for between N1,700 and N1,900 per measure.

An investigation conducted by our Correspondent in parts of Kano city including Kurmawa, Indabawa, Mubi, Tarauni and Nasarawa, revealed that most of the sellers of Akara have abandoned the business as they have run out of capital.

One of them, Hafsatu Garba, told our Correspondent that she had not fried the commodity in the last three months due to the soaring prices of beans and groundnut oil.

“I used to have a capital of about N20,000 with which I was frying Akara and I was making an average of N4,000 profit daily, but the business has collapsed because high costs of beans and groundnut oil have eaten up the capital.

“I have now resorted to producing and selling Kunun Kanwa(Gruel made from millet and guinea potash) whose ingredients are cheaper, to survive,” Garba said.

Another Seller, Rabi Inuwa, also bemoaned the situation, saying that she had since stopped selling Akara, as she was no longer making a profit due to the prohibitive prices of the two essential ingredients.

“I used to make a profit of about N3,000 every day, selling Akara for an initial N10 per unit, then N20 per unit, and lastly N50 per unit, yet, the profit kept thinning away, so, I stopped doing the business,” Inuwa said.

Sa’adatu Jibrin, who used to sell Akara in one of the breakfast joints visited, also said she had crashed out of the business as she realized that she was running out of capital.

“With the paltry N8,500 that is left of the capital, I am now selling condiments such as salt, peppers, tomatoes and onions to keep body and soul together,” Jibrin said.

The investigation also gathered that consumers of the Akara delicacy have found alternative breakfast meals, including Kunun Kanwa and Kunun Tsamiya, made from millet, guinea potash and tamarind, respectively.

Others have turned to Gurasa, a local delicacy made from flour, yeast and sugar, which they find cheaper than bean cake.