Lagos Trade Fair Complex Traders Protest Against Chinese Vendors

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Some Nigerian traders, especially those from the South East extraction, have asked Chinese vendors at the Lagos Trade Fair Complex, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, to leave because they are selling their products at lower prices.

The aggrieved traders staged a protest at the market on Tuesday, claiming that the foreigners were giving them a tough time at the complex.

Recall that a few weeks ago, some perfume sellers at the Trade Fair Complex kicked against a popular perfume vendor, Lattafa Store.

They alleged that since Lattafa Store opened its doors to business at the arena, customers have abandoned them, causing them to lose patronage.

A similar protest occurred today at the complex, but this time, the protesters said the Chinese were selling their products at lower prices, threatening their survival in the market.

They claimed that if nothing is urgently done to stop the Chinese retailers, local businesses could pack up, which they said could affect the nation’s economy.

The demonstrators said they are not happy with the Chinese traders’ strategy of selling products directly to consumers, stressing that this was killing local distributors, who travel to China to import items into the country.

Some of the angry traders carried placards with different inscriptions, such as ” The Chinese must go, They should go far from our market environment and not take our customers, and This is a peaceful protest, amongst others.