Harvest Season, Stagnant Prices: What’s Behind Bobo’s Unchanged Grain Market

High Cereal Prices Persist in Bobo-Dioulasso Market Despite Harvest Season

On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, our team visited the Bobo-Dioulasso fruit and vegetable market to investigate cereal prices at the start of the harvest season. The findings indicate that prices remain high.

Grain sellers in and around the market are unanimous in their assessment: there has been no significant drop in prices since the harvest began. Mariam, a reseller outside the market, notes that the price of a bag of corn has only decreased by 2,500 FCFA, from 30,000 FCFA to 27,500 FCFA. She also mentions that the price of a box of small millet is 850 FCFA, which she sells for 900 FCFA. A box of old harvest beans costs 1,500 FCFA, which she buys for 1,400 FCFA and resells for 1,500 FCFA.

Mariam adds that new harvest beans are scarce but can be found at lower prices from sellers who participate in village markets. Another seller inside the market corroborates Mariam’s account, stating that the harvests are not yet complete, resulting in fluctuating prices. She mentions that the price of a new bean box was 500 FCFA but quickly rose to 1,200 FCFA.

In contrast, Rosalie Ouattara, a seller inside the market, believes that the prices of new cereals have decreased. According to her, the price of a can of beans has dropped from 1,500 FCFA to 1,200 FCFA, while the price of corn has decreased from 600 FCFA to 500 FCFA per box. Although the price of millet remains unchanged, Ouattara hopes that it will decrease soon.

These varying accounts highlight the uncertainty and volatility of cereal prices in the Bobo-Dioulasso market during the harvest season.