Traders at the Adjen Kotoku Onion Market are facing severe losses after thousands of bags of onions were discarded due to rot, poor storage conditions, and declining demand.
According to sellers, this year’s situation has been the worst in decades, as entire truckloads of onions are rotting within days of arrival. The traders are calling on the Ministry of Agriculture and relevant agencies to urgently intervene to address what they describe as a growing crisis.
The market was engulfed in a foul stench as hundreds of rotten onion bags were transported to the nearby dumping site. Some traders told reporters that the onions barely last a week before spoiling, despite their efforts to preserve them.
Alhaji Issaka Zeba, one of the traders, revealed that over a thousand bags of onions are dumped every week.
“Last week alone, we filled five articulator trucks with rotten onions, and each truck carried about 350 bags,” he lamented.
The situation has also raised public health concerns after reports emerged that some scavengers, including children, were retrieving and reselling the discarded onions to unsuspecting consumers.
Trader Comfort Boafo attributed part of the problem to the poor condition of the road leading to the market, which she said discourages buyers from visiting.
“The road is full of potholes. Many people don’t come to the market anymore, and our goods go bad. We’re pleading with the government to fix the road so that business can improve,” she said.
Yakubu Kpeniba, spokesperson for the onion traders, added that many sellers are forced to import onions because local farmers cannot meet demand, and even imported ones are perishing faster than usual.
“I’ve been in the onion business for over 25 years, but this year’s destruction is the worst. We need the Ministry of Agriculture to investigate why the onions are spoiling so quickly,” he appealed.
The traders are urging authorities to provide better storage facilities, support for local onion farmers, and infrastructure upgrades to prevent future losses and protect livelihoods.