Nigerian food vendors make brisk business in Saudi Arabia –Survey

Nigerian food vendors in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, have continued to record a boom in their businesses after the completion of the 2017 pilgrimage.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the vendors are Nigerians residing in the Holy Land.
They sold white rice and beans or spaghetti with soup; tuwon shinkafa, semovita and amala with okra, kuka or vegetable soup.
They also sold cow meat, cow legs, fried chicken and fish.
Others were Hausa local foods like fura, kunu, dambu, danwake, among others.
Some of the food vendors said they recorded high sales from pilgrims since the commencement of the pilgrimage and after the Hajj.
A vendor, Maryam Abdullahi, said she sold a plate of white rice with soup and half chicken at six Saudi Riyals, while tuwo, semovita with chicken or fish was sold for seven Saudi Riyals.
‘’Sometimes I can make sales of over 600 Riyals daily because I prepare foods during lunch and dinner,” she said.
Most of the pilgrims preferred to buy local delicacies because it was cheaper and it suit their taste.
Muhammad Rabiu, one of the pilgrims, said even though state governments had provided food for them, he preferred to buy local food from such vendors.
“State governments provide pilgrims with breakfast and dinner, but I buy lunch from such food vendors daily,” he said. (NAN)