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KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Prices of fruits such as apple, sweet orange and papaya have gone down by around 25 percent per kg in the domestic wholesale market aided by a dramatic surge in supply in last few days.
The wholesale prices of major fruits is declining as the supply from India -- which is enjoying its peak harvest season for fruits such as banana, papaya and sweet orange -- increased by 40 percent to 70 tons per day compared to 50 tons a week ago.
“The prices of fruits started falling from the beginning of the last week as the domestic market was flush with supply from India,” Arjun Prasad, a fruits wholesaler told Republica on Saturday.
According to Nepal Fruits Wholesalers Association (NFWA), fruits market at Kuleshwar, despite the fall in the prices, the consumption of major fruits in the domestic market has remained unchanged.
The prices of fruits like apple, sweet orange, papaya and banana have decreased by as much as Rs 30 per kg in the capital. “The price of Indian apple has fallen by Rs 30 per kg and it is now available at Rs 150 per kg,” Prasad said. Similarly, the price of banana fell by Rs 7 per dozen compared to the last week and is now being sold at Rs 40 per dozen.
Likewise, sweet oranges are available at Rs 76 per kg, down from last week´s Rs 82 per kg. The price of papaya has come down from last week´s Rs 65 per kg to Rs 55 per kg. Small and big apples, likewise, saw a reduction of Rs 10 per kg and are available at Rs 80 and Rs 100 per kg respectively.
The prices of watermelon and mango, on the other hand, have gone up slightly. As per the traders, watermelon has become dearer by Rs 10 per kg and is now sold at Rs 50 per kg.
Similarly, the price of mango has gone up by Rs 15 to Rs 97 per kg as the season of mango has come to an end.
The wholesalers have expressed worry that they might be forced to sell fruits at lower prices next week on account of a supply quite higher than the demand in the domestic market.
“The price of apple might go down as its consumption hasn´t changed in line with the supply from India,” Prasad said.
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