Fruit vendors rejoice as sales pick up pace

HYDERABAD: The demand for fruits has gone up in the city ahead of Mahasivaratri, due to which the Gaddiannaram fruit market has been experiencing  heavy rush from the last two to three days.The prices of fruits were more or less moderate at the market. The price for watermelon, musk melon, banana, grapes and apples, although low in the market, remained high across the city.

The market on Wednesday received 6,153 boxes of apple, 1,617.3 tonnes of watermelon, 42,865 boxes of grapes, 207.5 tonnes of muskmelons and 409 boxes of mangoes. Depending on the quality, the price of a box of apples varied between Rs 3,100 and Rs 5,000, a tonne of watermelons between Rs 400 and Rs 800, a box of grapes between Rs 1,250 and Rs 1,850, a tonne of muskmelons between Rs 600 andRs 1,900, and a box of mangoes between Rs 2,000 and  Rs 8,000.

However, outside the Gaddiannaram market, retail prices skyrocketed in the view of the festival. Some retailers were selling watermelons for Rs 25 per kg when the market price was less than Rs 8 per kg.  “Sivaratri is one of the biggest festivals and it helps us make a good profit,” said Naveen Kumar, a fruit vendor from Gaddiannaram. “This year, a large quantity of fruits have reached the market and the sales are also pretty good. The price is reasonable, so we are hoping that all the fruit that we have got this time will be sold,” he added. On the flip side, many at the Gaddiannaram market were seen not wearing masks or following any Covid-19 norms. Many were also seen spitting in the market area.