Mai Shayi Vendors Lament Low Patronage Over High Price Of Noodles, Other Items

Road side tea makers widely known as Mai Shayi have continued to lament over drop in patronage as hardship in Nigeria continues to bite hard.

Lamenting the fall in patronage of their tea business as prices of vital items used for their business including indomie among other items continue to skyrocket, the Mai Shayi, lamented rising cost of food items.

According to reports, the cost of Indomie noodles, a famous fast food item in Nigeria that is loved by both young and elderly, has increased dramatically in a short amount of time.

A carton of Indomie basic pack, the lowest size with 40 pieces, is being marketed for between N10,500 and N11,500.

Naija News reports that while a cartoon of the Hungry Man size, which contains 24 packs, is sold for between N16,800 and N17,500, a carton of the Super Pack, which contains 40 packs, is priced between N17,800 and 18,700.

Additionally, a standard-sized packet costs N300, and the Super Pack and Hungry Man packets cost N500 and N700, respectively.

The ordinary size costs N330 per pack and N13,200 for a carton at one of the big supermarkets in Abuja; the Hungry Man size costs N845 every packet and N20,280 for a carton.

However, a Mai Shayi in Apo, Abba Idris, lamented that Indomie’s patronage has decreased as a result of price increases.

“I make one hungry man now for N750, but a month ago I was making it for N400. Also, I sold one super pack for N550 as against N300 a month ago. Many of my customers are complaining because of the increase in price of Indomie and they are not buying like before,” he said.

Mustapha Abba, another Mai Shayi in Gaduwa, claimed that his clientele had decreased as a result of their inability to purchase Indomie.

“I was making one super pack for N350 three weeks ago but now I make it for N600, while the hungry man was N450 now it is N850,” he said.

He claims that although there are still a lot of people coming to my stand in the morning and evening, they are not as frequent as they once were.

“Some people that used to buy two packs can only afford one pack now. Some don’t even request eggs again. We are not making much gain from this business. If we are to sell to make a good profit, we will not see anybody again,” he added.

Another Mai Shayi in the Bwari Area Council, Gambo Haruna, concurred that the price hike had caused a decline in Indomie patronage.

“Before we used to buy Indomie ₦5,000, it increased to ₦6,000 and continued increasing. Now it is over N10,000, some N11,000, depending on the size. Customers must reduce, they cannot afford it again because of the price now,” he said.