Traders said daily arrivals of fruits in Kuleshwar wholesale market has shot up to 75 tons, up from average daily arrival of 50 tons last week. [break]
“Prices of fruits like Indian apple, Chinese apple, Chinese pear, banana, pomegranate, sweet orange, watermelon, and pear have come down compared to last week,” said Dipendra Shrestha, treasurer of Nepal Fruits Wholesalers Association (NFWA) at Kuleshwar.
The price of pomegranate has reached to Rs 200 per kg following a drop by Rs 30. Similarly, the price of banana fell by Rs 5 to Rs 40 per dozen. Sweet oranges are selling at Rs 65 per kg, down from last week´s Rs 70 per kg. Watermelon has become cheaper by Rs 10 per kg and is selling at 40 per kg.
Similarly, prices of Indian small and big apples have tumbled by Rs 15 per kg and are available at Rs 85 and Rs 100 per kg respectively.
Chinese apple and Chinese pear are selling for Rs 100 and Rs 110 per kg respectively, down by Rs 10 per kg compared to the price a week ago. Pear is selling at Rs 30 per kg, down from Rs 40 per kg priced last week.
However, prices of pine apple and papaya have increased by 15 per kg and the fruits are now selling at Rs 85 and Rs 70 per kg respectively in the wholesale market.
“Prices of the major fruits have come down in the wholesale market because of increased supply and low consumption,” said Arjun Parsad Humagain, a fruit trader at Kuleshwar fruits market. “Though the prices of fruits are going down, fruits are expected to be dearer during upcoming festivals,” Humagain added.
Despite the fall in prices, fruit outlets reoprted decline in sales volumes. Humagain himself is selling fruits worth around Rs 50,000 per day, which is significantly lower than Rs 100,000 last week.
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