18th September, 2017
Traders in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, have reduced prices of their goods by over 50 per cent after the completion of the 2017 pilgrimage.
The traders pegged the prices after the Arafat Day to attract customers.
A survey conducted by News Agency of Nigeria showed that items affected by the gesture include: clothing materials, palm dates, cooking utensils, fruits and electronics.
For example, clothing materials which sold for 120 Saudi Riyals before the Hajj, now go for 50 Riyals.
However, most of the pilgrims could not take that advantage of the price reduction as they have either exhausted their Basic Transport Allowance (BTA) or have reached 32 kilogrammes allowed for luggage.
One of the pilgrims, Alhaji Muhammad Tukur, said he noticed that the traders were reducing prices of their wares almost on daily basis.
“However, It is not all the pilgrims that can afford to buy the items because some of them have already exhausted their BTAs,’’ Tukur said.
Another pilgrim, Alhaji Rabiu Muhammad, said he would have loved to buy the goods, but that he had ran out of cash.
“Even though I came in the ninth flight, I finished making purchases two weeks ago.
“But I am regretting for not holding on till this period when goods are cheaper,’’ he said.
The Airlines that transported the pilgrims to the Holy Land insist that each pilgrim’s luggage must not exceed 32 kilogrammes.