Getu Melese, 34, a casual labourer around Anwar Mosque in Merkato, Addis Ketema District, came to Addis Abeba last year from Dessie – a month before Ramadan. It was a good time to take note of the booming market for sweet foods during the month. A year later, however, it is not just time to observe such a lucrative market, but also to act on it.
With Ramadan starting last Saturday, June 29, 2014, he is supplementing his income from selling the sweet foods every afternoon from 4pm to 8pm in addition to the daily labour work he does throughout the rest of the day.
“I was surprised when I saw the shift in the need,” he said, recalling the year old experience that triggered his desire to sell the sweet products, like Mushebek, Halewa and Baqlaba – all made up of flour, sugar and honey – as well as balls of sesame seeds. “These products come out to the market after 4pm in the afternoon, but have so many buyers compared to any other products the Muslim community need for the breaking hours in the evening.”
Sweet foods of various types, including Getu’s items, are the common foods that make up the traditional iftar – the evening meal when Muslims break their daytime fast on the arrival of sunset. None of the food items constituting the fasting meal is privileged like date palm, locally called tamer.
Breaking the fast by dates is a Sunnah – the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims.
Esmael Aser, a wholesaler in Merkato, imported 3,000 10 kg cans of dates from the Middles East, which he took delivery of 10 days before Ramadan.
The price of dates this year has shown a significant decrease from last year due to the increased supply, he says. There are two varieties, which are called Medina and Saudi Arabia. A three kilogram of first class Medina dates was sold for 400 Br last year, because the delivery was late; this year, first grade Medina dates are selling for just 250 Br. Second grade Saudi Arabia dates were selling for 350 Br last year, which has now come down to 220 Br, he says.
In Merkato, Nuredin Seid, 25, who lives with his three brothers, has been selling dates for almost a decade in front of the Anwar Mosque, making a daily revenue of 200 to 300 Br. During Ramadan, however, demand is so high that he sells as much as 1,500Br, even though the price increases about 10 days before Ramadan approaches, he says.
Like Nuredin, Mohammed Tahir, who sells samosas, is also enjoying increased sales. Mohammed makes his samosas from lentils. Every day, he uses as much as seven kilos of flour and three litres of oil, he says, making 250 pieces.
He is normally a daily labourer, from which he takes a break during Ramadan to save his energy. He and his wife divide the 250 pieces they make every day and sell them from different locations around Merkato, making a profit of up to 50 Br.
In addition to these small scale roadside retailers of Ramadan delicacies, a restaurant near the Anwar Mosque, which is no longer selling food during the day, has found a way to make up for the loss in revenue by selling coupons which the ‘haves’ can buy and distribute to the ‘have-nots’ in line with the Islamic tradition of sadaqa. The needy with the coupons as well as paying patrons will come in the evening.
Ever since he opened the restaurant nine years ago, the owner, Seid Kedir, has been selling coupons during Ramadan. This has enabled him to make up for lost revenue.
“I get the same amount of sales as the ordinary days in the limited time during the iftar hours, though the restaurant remains closed the rest of the time,” he said.
Ramadan has enabled most of these businesspeople crowding Merkato to get some extra cash. Getu, the young man from Dessie, has been able to double his revenue.
“The money I get by doing casual labour during the rest of the day is almost equal with the amount I get by selling these products within a shorter period of time, exerting less effort,” he said.
On July 1, 2014, Getu had finished the 40 pieces of the sweet food items he had taken to the market earlier than he had expected.
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