Since Saturday, Sah has sold Rs 1 million worth of bananas from which he has pocketed a profit of Rs 200,000. [break]
According to Jugeshwor Sah, a retail trader, at least 40 truckloads of bananas were sold in Janakpur alone, while Dhanusha district saw banana transaction of around Rs 50 million during the festival, which is widely celebrated by people in the Tarai belt.
Sales of bananas rise during Chhath festival as offerings cannot be made to the Sun, considered a god, without including this fruit. Usually, a family offers one to four gharis (a cluster of bananas attached to the stalk) of the fruit during this process.
Since demand for the fruit soars during this time of the year most of the vegetable sellers turn into banana traders during the festive season as they can generate “good profits”.
“I alone sold Rs 100,000 worth of bananas since Saturday generating a profit of Rs 25,000,” Jugeshwor said. Other retailers also made handsome profits selling the fruit during the festival that concludes on Tuesday.
It is said almost 95 percent of bananas sold in Dhanusha district were imported from India. Some of the common breeds of Indian bananas that enter Nepal are Guwahati, Birpur, Hajipur, Champa and Gopal, according to Raju Sah, a banana trader.
“Nepal´s Sunsari breed of banana is also popular but it cannot meet the market demand due to low production,” Raju said.
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