KOCHI: The increase in temperature is dealing a huge blow to fruit vendors, especially those in the retail business. The increasing temperature leads to over-ripening of fruits making them unsuitable for sale a day later.“It is tough to sell the entire stock in a day. Forget the next day, the fruits look unappetising by evening, making it difficult to sell on the same day,” said Ali, a fruit seller in Ernakulam market. Once the fruits lose their fresh look, it becomes difficult to attract customers, he added.
According to him, though the stock had arrived on that very day, it becomes difficult to convince the customers. “They allege that we are selling poor quality fruits,” said Ali. Also, the underproduction of certain varieties has not helped, he added. The produce is mainly brought from Amarapuri and Maharashtra. With the apple farms recording poor harvest in India, the fruit is being imported from Iran, Turkey and Poland, said Ali. According to him, the base price for apples in the market is `120 per kg. “That’s for the Indian variety,” he added. “Watermelons are in demand and are priced at `50 per kg. Shamam stands at `28 per kg. Both are wholesale prices. Jackfruit too has begun appearing in the market,” said Ali. But with fruits getting spoiled fast, the vendors are not able to break even, he added.
According to Renjith a banana seller at the market, fruits that are most in-demand are bananas and oranges.Meanwhile, P V Hamsa, president, Fruit Vendors Association, said, “The problem of fast ripening of fruits is not being faced by the wholesale dealers as they have a proper storage facility. Fruits placed in boxes placed right under the bright sun won’t help,” he added.