According to pricing data issued by the fruits wholesale market, locally produced fruits like Mustang apples, and small and big oranges have come down by Rs 5 to Rs 15 per kg compared to the Dashain period. Prices of pomegranate, watermelon and pears too remained unchanged.[break]
On Saturday, local orange was selling at Rs 40 per kg, down from Rs 55 per kg of a week ago. Likewise, Mustang apples was priced Rs 140 per kg, whereas it was selling at Rs 150 during Dashain.
However, prices of popular fruits like Indian apples, Chinese pears, Chinese apples, oranges, papaya and banana have increased by as much as Rs 10-50 per kg.
“The price of Indian apple has increased by Rs 30 per kg and it is now available at Rs 150 per kg. Similarly, prices of Chinese pears and apples have increased by Rs 50 per kg each and are selling at Rs 180 per kg and 200 per kg,” said Arjun Prasad Humagain, a fruits wholesaler.
Similarly, the price of banana has gone up by Rs 15 per dozen compared to Dashain and is now being sold at Rs 55 per dozen. Indian oranges, which were priced at Rs 70 per kg are selling at Rs 90 per kg.
Officials of Nepal Fruits Wholesalers Association (NFWA) said fruits market at Kuleshwar is presently receiving lesser imported fruits and that has led prices to go up.
“The prices of the locally produced fruits, on the other hand, have started falling from the beginning of the last week as the domestic market is flushed with supply from different districts,” said Humagain.
According to Kuleshwor fruits market, the market is presently receiving around 30 tons of fruits a day since the end of Dashain. The volume is 15 tons lesser than the normal quantity that enters the market regularly, and traders attributed this decline to sharp drop in arrivals of imported fruits.
Despite the price fluctuations, traders said the consumption of the major fruits in the domestic market has decreased with the end of Dashain festival. “But the demand will soar after a week as consumption of fruits go up sharply once Tihar festival kicks off,” said Humagain.
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