According to Fruits Wholesale Market at Kuleswor, price of fruits has gone down by Rs 10 to Rs 40 per kg due to low demand.
Price of fruits like apple, papaya, pomegranate and orange has gone down by Rs 10 to 40 per kg while price of banana has gone down by Rs 10 per dozen. Similarly, price of pineapple has gone down by Rs 20 per unit.[break]
With the decline in price, Chinese apples are now available at Rs 70 per kg down from Rs 85 per kg, banana is available at Rs 24 per dozen which is down by Rs 12 per dozen compared to two weeks back.
Similarly, the price of papaya has come down from last week´s Rs 45 per kg and selling at Rs 35 per kg. Pineapple which cost Rs Rs 60 to Rs 90 per unit is now available at Rs 40 to Rs 70 per unit, price of orange has dropped by Rs 10 per kg to Rs 40 per kg and pomegranate has become cheaper by rs 40 per kg to Rs 160 per kg.
Dipendra Shrestha, treasurer of Fruits wholesaler´s association said that demand of fruits usually goes down during winter as people normally consume less fruits during winter. In addition to that, juice shops also buy less fruits as demand for juice during winter goes down by almost half said Shrestha.
With the decline in demand the arrival of fruits in the wholesale market has also gone down by almost 75 percent. Currently the wholesale market is receiving 30 to 45 tons of Chinese apples, 30 tons of bananas, 30 tons of oranges and 30 tons of papaya, pomegranate and pineapple.
Arjun Parsad, a fruit trader said price of fruits has come down as there is very less demand due to the cold weather. “People normally consume less fruits during winter due to which the price decreases,” said Parsad.
The fruits at the wholesale market mostly come from India and China as the domestic production is not able to meet the demand for fruits.
Currently local banana and orange are available in the market while rest of the fruits is imported from India and China.
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