Ho Central Market

Ho Central Market, widely known as Ho Asigame — "Ho big market" — is described by Graphic Online as one of the biggest trading centres in the Volta Region and a source of livelihood for many communities there. It sits in Ho, the regional capital, within Ho Municipal. UN-Habitat's Ho City Profile lists it as one of three markets in the city, alongside Ahoe Market and Civic Centre Market.

The market draws traders from farming and fishing communities including Adidome, Tsito-Awudome, Kpedze, Abutia, Kete Krachi and Dambai, as well as from surrounding towns such as Hohoe, Keta and Aflao. Buyers also come from parts of the Eastern Region and from neighbouring Togo. The range of goods reported is broad and largely food-focused: corn, beans, fish, charcoal, cloths, vegetables, palm oil, corn dough, groundnut paste, yam, beads, garden eggs, palm nut, okra, groundnuts, pepper, cassava, onions, oil palm, cocoyam and plantain.

Graphic reports that the market was first located at the Ho Civic Centre and moved to its current location in the early 1970s. Before that move, every day was a market day; the four-day interval cycle was introduced so that traders had time to prepare between market days.

For a visitor, the practical point is timing. On market days the market becomes densely populated and Ho experiences heavy traffic — drivers quoted by Graphic describe market days as their "pay day." If you are planning around the market, expect congestion in and around the central business district rather than a quiet browse.

Recent public activity has focused on that congestion. The Ho Municipal Assembly, working with the National Road Safety Authority, has carried out decongestion exercises around the Ho Central Market central business district, clearing traders, hawkers and drivers from pedestrian walkways and major roads. The Asogli State Council and Asogli chiefs and queens publicly backed the exercise and urged traders to relocate to designated areas within the market. Visitors should therefore expect trading to be directed to designated areas inside the market rather than spilling onto walkways and roads.

No verified coordinates, opening hours, entrance fees or stall arrangements are available for this listing, so those details should be confirmed locally before a visit.