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Summary:<\/p>\n
Market women say prices have been rising since late February, driven by higher global fuel and import costs linked to the US\/Israel war on Iran, forcing customers to buy less
\nLow income and high costs are squeezing Liberia\u2019s small businesses from both sides
\nGovernment enforcement of price controls through inspections and fines is ongoing but gaps remain<\/p>\n
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives<\/a><\/p>\n WATERSIDE MARKET, Monrovia \u2013 Bessy Toe sat behind small piles of sugar, flour and milk here one day recently, watching the hours pass. Business used to move, she said. Now, goods stay too long on the table, and sometimes they must be sold at a loss to avoid spoilage.<\/p>\n At home, the impact is being felt by her whole family. Where there used to be eight cups of rice to eat, now there may be five or six.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore one customer can come, two to three hours will pass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Across Liberia, market women are telling the same story: business is slow, prices are high, and survival is getting harder.<\/p>\n The US\/Israeli war on Iran, that has strangled global fuel and fertilizer trade, is threatening to upend the Boakai administration\u2019s careful management of the economy. By March<\/a> year on year inflation was down to 4.5 percent, a big drop from the high of 12.4 percent a year earlier. \u00a0But experts say the dramatic rise in global prices means that is likely to change from April.<\/p>\n Aliko Dangote, Africa\u2019s richest man, issued a warning at an event in Washington last week that rising fuel prices would devastate African airlines and farmers. \u201cThe majority of African airlines won\u2019t be able to survive\u201d Dangote warned, noting that Nigerian carriers have already\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0they would suspend operations by April 20 if prices are not reduced.<\/p>\n He was equally stark about fertilizer, saying that two months ago it was selling for about $400 and today it is at $850. \u201cThis farming season the governments have to actually give subsidies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In late February, the United States and Israel began direct military strikes on Iran hoping to topple the weakened regime. Within days, Iran retaliated and disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz \u2014 a critical route for global oil shipments.<\/p>\n The impact was immediate. Global oil prices surged, pushing up the cost of fuel worldwide. For countries like Liberia, which rely heavily on imports, that translated quickly into higher transport and commodity prices.<\/p>\n Women like Bessy know nothing of war between global powers but they are starting to feel it nonetheless but she and other traders said they began noticing increases within weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything started going up small-small, then it got worse,\u201d said one market woman.<\/p>\n Jerry Barclay, an economist at the University of Liberia, said the link between global shocks and local prices is direct.<\/p>\n \u201cLiberia depends heavily on imported goods,\u201d Barclay said. \u201cWhen global prices rise or fuel costs increase, local prices also go up.\u201d<\/p>\n The recent surge, he said, reflects both international pressures and deeper structural weaknesses in the economy. At the same time, more than half the population lives in poverty. If prices go up, they will face serious hardship.<\/p>\n \u201cIf everyone doesn\u2019t have money, to buy is very difficult,\u201d Barclay said.<\/p>\n When customers cannot afford to buy, businesses begin to struggle \u2014 and the effects ripple across the wider economy. Barclay said rising costs faced by traders, including transport, rent, electricity, taxes and loan payments could push many to the brink.<\/p>\n \u201cIf things do not improve, some of the business people will have to shut down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At Red Light market, on the outskirts of the city, Esther Wallace stood near a market table to buy flour. Wallace is not just a buyer. She fries kala to sell to feed her four children.<\/p>\n Wallace said sugar has increased from L$80 to L$100. A small gallon of oil, once L$1,200, is now L$1,600. Wallace sells kala for L$5 and L$10. But profit is almost gone.<\/p>\n \u201cMama, we are just there,\u201d she said. \u201cAny small thing gets on it, thats our profit.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallace said sometimes there is not enough money to buy a full bucket of flour. On the day of the interview, she bought two cups. Wallace\u2019s husband is dead. Business is the only source of survival.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have to bear it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At Waterside market, Mariama Kamarah said the pressure shows up most at home. Food is reduced and money no longer stretches. What used to work is no longer enough. \u201cThings are hard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n At the same market, Agnes Nwagiawe said transport costs are adding to the burden. A trip that once cost L$100 can now cost L$160 or more.<\/p>\n To survive, Nwagiawe said traders now sell different items at once\u2014rice, beans, flour, sugar\u2014just to keep money coming. \u201cWe are losing gradually,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Some traders said they have reduced what they sell. Others have stopped coming to the market all together. Many remain only because they have no alternative.<\/p>\n At home, the effects are immediate. Meals are reduced. Food is stretched over days. For some families, proper meals now happen only on Sundays or special occasions.<\/p>\n Miantor Gbatu, Commerce Inspector General, said the government is working to control prices of local commodities including rice to prevent price gouging.<\/p>\n \u201cOur role is to ensure a very good business practice in the country,\u201d\u00a0Gbatu said. \u201cWe are there to ensure that prices are regulated and there is value for money. We are in the market on a daily basis. We have our inspectors into the different communities ensuring that the right things are done.\u201d<\/p>\n Gbatu said businesses that violate rules are fined.<\/p>\n \u201cSome are fined $100, some $200, some $250 depending on the violation,\u201d Gbatu said. \u201cIn Montserrado we have around 98 inspectors.\u201d<\/p>\n He would like 150 inspectors but there are challenges. There is not enough funding for the inspectors he has. Some are working without pay.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes our inspectors have to pay from their own pocket to get to the field,\u201d said Gbatu.<\/p>\n Economist Barclay warned that enforcement alone will not solve the problem. Liberians depend too heavily on exports for their staple food, rice. According to the\u00a0World Bank<\/a>, rice makes up over one fifth of what Liberians eat, nearly half of adult caloric intake and takes up 15 percent of average household spending. When the price of rice rises \u2014 as it does whenever global shipping costs spike, or export governments restrict exports \u2013 the poorest Liberians eat less.<\/p>\n Growing more rice is imperative so the country can control the price and supply. But Liberia produces less than a third\u00a0of the 650,000 tons Liberians eat each year. The gap, over 400,000 tons, is filled by imports, mostly from\u00a0India<\/a>. At the same time farming is inefficient. The average yields for Liberian rice farmers hover around one ton per hectare, barely enough to make rice farming worth the labor.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-473.png\")
Mariama Kamarah sits waiting for people to buy<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-474.png\")
Agnes Giaway market woman in Redlight market setting up her goods<\/p>\n