Published: January 23, 2026
MONROVIA — From Waterside to Red Light, traders across Monrovia say business has gone cold since the holidays, with women who depend on daily sales now struggling to feed families as low cash circulation, delayed salaries and a volatile exchange rate squeeze buying power in the city’s markets.
During a visit to several markets on Wednesday, The Liberian Investigator spoke with petty traders who described sales as “very tough,” saying customers who once bought in small quantities now walk through the aisles and leave empty-handed.
“The past government time, buying was OK, but under President Boakai’s government, things are very hard,” said Favor Duo, a market woman who said sales have dropped sharply since the start of the new year.
Duo said the slowdown did not spare even the festive season, when business typically peaks. Instead, she said many traders were forced to slash prices and auction goods to prevent losses.
“Even Christmas time, we couldn’t sell good,” Duo said. “We beg people to buy our market, but no buyers. We sell according to how we buy the goods. Sometimes it is just hand-to-mouth business.”
She said some traders are now turning to loans to restock, only to find that the weak demand leaves them with little or no profit.
Nearby, Deborah Johnson said the economic hardship has worsened expectations that a new administration would ease the burden on ordinary Liberians.
“We were told President Boakai has experience and things will improve, but as it stands now, things are getting worse every day,” Johnson said. “We are not seeing the job opportunities we were promised.”
Several traders linked the drop in sales to delays in salary payments for government workers, arguing that when wages come late—or not at all—market activity collapses.
“Some people working for government are not being paid on time, and because of that, they are not buying,” said one marketer who asked not to be named. “Government needs to pay workers on time because that is the only way we can get money.”
Others pointed to what they described as overcrowded markets, where the number of sellers has grown faster than the number of buyers.
“The sellers are many, and when the sellers are more than the buyers, business will go slow,” one trader said.
But the complaint heard most often was the unstable exchange rate, which traders say has made pricing unpredictable and profits nearly impossible.
One seller said even when the U.S. dollar drops, prices at the wholesale level remain high, leaving petty traders trapped.
“Let the rate be constant,” she said. “Today it is L$850 to one U.S. dollar, tomorrow you hear another rate. We buy today and tomorrow the rate changes.”
A young man in his 30s, standing behind a table of goods, said he had not sold anything since arriving at the market that morning.
“Since this morning I entered this market, I have not sold a single item,” he said, blaming slow purchasing on unpaid salaries and families prioritizing school fees and household responsibilities.
He said sales were better during Christmas, but dropped sharply once the new year began.
Traders interviewed called on the government to address what they described as the root causes of the downturn by expanding job opportunities, ensuring timely payment of public workers, stabilizing the exchange rate, and improving cash flow in the economy to revive market activity.
Discussion about this post