The price of Sachet water popularly called pure water is surging in Kano, rising from N250 to between N300 and N350 per bag.
The price of premium quality has also risen from N500 to N700 impacting the lifestyle of residents who rely on pure water as a cheap water source to quench their thirst.
A bag of sachet water was previously sold at N250 but not any more as it now costs between N300 and N350 depending on the producer.
Ridwan Adamu, a pure water seller, attributes the rise to arbitrary price increase by producers, saying the government must begin to enforce control measures to arrest the situation.
“Producers usually hide under the rising cost of diesel to increase the price and the government hardly intervenes to enforce regulatory control.
“Even when they announced a plan to raise the price over the radio ,the government did not act,” he said.
Buhari Abdullahi l, a resident, said the increase is taking strain on poor residents which, he adds, is also taking a toll on sellers and producers too with shrinking patronage.
“Poor people are not happy with the latest increase. People buying two bags are now buying just one instead. I used to buy a bottle of dispenser at about N800 but the same bottle is now N1200 leaving us with few options as the pure water whose price is considered the cheapest but now rising also,” he said.
But Umar Idris , a producer, said the cost of raw materials and diesel are responsible for the increase.
Many residents who rely on sachet water as a cheap and affordable water source either buy at the existing market price or find less expensive alternatives.