Ice Block Sellers Record Huge Sales

Some ice block producers and vendors in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, are having a boom in sales due to the hot season being experienced in parts of the country, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

They told NAN in Kafanchan on Thursday that they were recording huge patronage.

According to them the increase in demand for the commodity is so much that they are finding it difficult to meet.

Mrs. Mirabel Ishaku, an ice block producer, said the unprecedented hot weather, coupled with erratic power supply, made customers to depend on the ice block for their cold drinks.

She said her customers include food vendors, butchers, sachet water vendors and hoteliers, adding that she made an average sale of N10,000 daily.

“Sometime the ice block finishes while customers keep asking for more,” she said.

Ishaku said the major challenge she had was having to power her refrigerator as she did not depend on PHCN for power supply.

“I use a very big generator that consumes lots of fuel,” she said.

Mrs. Lami Abel, who sells ice block at the Yakowa Market, said she made an average of N5,000 daily, adding that a sachet of ice block was sold at N10.

“Most restaurants and relaxation spots’ operators will loose their customers if they don’t chill their drinks,” she said.

Abel said, although power outage constituted a bottleneck, her refrigerator was able to retain the ice temperature for close to 24 hours.

“Once I power my generator throughout the night, the ice blocks stay in tact throughout the day,” she said.

Mr. Samson Harrison, an auto mechanic, told NAN that he would not patronise any relaxation spot which drinks were not cold.

“The weather is so unfriendly that only a chilled drink can refresh one,” he said.

Mrs. Habiba Gambo, a health worker, said she patronised ice block sellers to keep the drinking water in her home cold as well as preserve perishables in her refrigerator.