1st November, 2015
As the annual Calabar Carnival approaches, the demand for plastic chairs and tables has increased in the Cross River capital, according to survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Dealers in the items now make brisk business after a lull occasioned by prolonged rainfall and harsh economic realities.
A dealer, Mr Sunday Daniel, told NAN that there had been increase in the demand for plastic chairs and tables in recent times.
He attributed the increase in demand to the December carnival and other social gatherings planned for the Christmas period.
He said that people in entertainment industry in and around the city had been patronising him, preparatory to the period.
“The Calabar carnival is around the corner and people make much use of plastic chairs during the period, especially those who do business at festival village.
“It is seasonal. The demand is usually high this time of the year because of various engagements by different social groups,” he said.
Another dealer, Mr Innocent Eze, said: “the demand is really increasing; the increase is not only for chairs but also for tables.
“In the years past, we used to have increase in demand for the wares. But this year, more people have been buying. Maybe people now use sets of plastic seats in their homes.
“We sell more chairs than tables because churches use more of them than they use the tables. We are also patronised by those who run restaurants.
“The turnover is really appreciating in spite of complaints by Nigerians that money is scarce in the country,” he said.
Eze however stated that the prices of the items had remained stable in spite of the increase in demand.
A resident, Mr Edet Archibong, attributed the high demand for plastic chairs to the current economic realities in the state in particular and the country at large.
According to him, many people who could no longer afford to have upholstery furniture in their homes now use plastic chairs and tables because they are cheap.
“There is mass unemployment in the country and even those employed are not receiving much in terms of salaries. So using plastic items is an easy way out,” he said.
Archibong said that a set of upholstery chairs currently cost between N500, 000 to N1, 000, 000 in the city, depending on the quality.
“How many people can afford that? Whether we like it or not, keeping decent room furniture has gone out of the reach of an average Nigerian; that is just the truth,” he added.
Mr Jude Ekong, a pastor in a new generation church described the affordability plastic chairs as “divine intervention.’’
He said that but for plastic chairs, many churches would have had serious problems in procuring seats for their congregations.
“It helps a lot in setting up new churches. It is easy to move about and very cheap too,” he said.