Pakistan’s fruit market is seeing quite some upheaval. Wholesalers are reporting around a 40 per cent drop in sales in Punjab, with truckloads of fruit waiting for days in markets before finding a buyer. Despite the festival of Ramadan, for the first time in many years, prices of a number of fruits (melon, strawberry) are dropping, at least at wholesale level.
Farmers report their Ramadan planning is failing. Helped by relatively cooler weather this year, they claimed to have delayed the processes of ripening and picking to benefit from Ramadan prices. As fruit supply improved while sales dropped, growers are not getting what they had planned and hoped for.
Prices at the retail level are still high, causing major drop in sales and rigging the entire market. The retailers are thus making money at the cost of farmers and the wholesalers and may leave lingering impact on the fruit market, which would outlast the current season.
Source: dawn.com