Traders at the Calabar Christmas Festival Village have raised concerns over declining sales, rising stall rents and alleged poor coordination at this year’s Calabar Christmas Festival.

They described the business climate as tougher than in previous years, despite the event’s growing popularity.

The festival village, a major attraction of the yearly Calabar Carnival and now in its 20th edition, hosts hundreds of traders offering food, toys, fashion items, footwear, jewellery and entertainment over a 32-day period of trading, funfair activities, sit-out spots and live performances.

However, several traders who spoke with The Guardian said increased costs and dwindling customer traffic had affected their ability to break even.

Muhammad Abubakar, a footwear and jewellery trader who said he has participated in the festival village for more than 15 years, described this year’s sales as “down compared to last year and previous years”.

“Sales are not up to what we used to record before,” Abubakar said. “Many customers complain that they don’t have money. Some say salaries have not been paid, others say the cost of living is too high.”

Beyond low patronage, Abubakar blamed a sharp increase in stall fees following a change in the management of the festival village. According to him, traders who previously paid between N40,000 and N50,000 for a double-canopy space were asked to pay as much as N75,000 for a single canopy this year, with some spaces reportedly costing N100,000 or more.

“Something we paid N40,000 to N50,000 for last year is now triple or even four times higher,” he said. “Even if there must be an increment, it should not be this much.”

He warned that higher stall fees ultimately push up the prices of goods, as traders also contend with transportation, accommodation and other logistics.

“If the government allows us to pay less for space, we can also sell at lower prices. But with these costs, we cannot sell at a loss,” he said, calling on the state government to review the charges and monitor the activities of agents managing the village.

Similar concerns were raised by Tessy Eniang, a food vendor, who complained of poor coordination, alleged discrimination against indigenes and weak sales, particularly on weekdays.

“Sales are very poor. It is only on Sundays that we manage to sell a little. Even our expenses, we have not been able to recover them,” she said.

Eniang alleged that traders from Cross River State were sometimes sidelined during space allocation. “They will look at your name and say there is no space, but you will see other people being accommodated,” she claimed.

She added that the layout of the village also affected visibility and customer flow.

Mrs Chibuzo Arinze, a toy seller who travelled from Lagos and said she has been participating in the festival for more than 15 years, also described the cost of doing business this year as significantly higher.

“Last year, things were cheaper,” she said. “This year, prices are very high. Some goods you are supposed to buy, you cannot buy them because of the cost.”

Arinze disclosed that she paid N100,000 for her stand this year, compared with N60,000 last year. While noting that customers were still patronising traders “by God’s grace”, she appealed to the government to reduce stall fees to ease the burden on vendors.

Other traders, who spoke anonymously, said the number of vendors had increased significantly, intensifying competition for a limited pool of customers. Some also claimed that the positioning of stalls and blocked access points further reduced foot traffic in certain sections of the village.

“There are too many vendors and sales are not circulating,” one trader said. “Many people took loans to pay for stands, but they cannot recover their money.”

Despite the complaints, traders acknowledged that the Calabar Christmas Festival Village remains a key economic opportunity during the festive season, attracting visitors from within and outside the state.

They urged the Cross River State Government to engage more closely with traders, review pricing and improve coordination to ensure that the festival continues to benefit both organisers and participants.

Many traders said lessons from this year’s experience should inform planning for future editions, especially as the Calabar Carnival brand continues to grow nationally and internationally.