No teeming crowds at Sunday Bazaars

LAHORE: The number of buyers remained low despite the general decline in the prices of vegetables and fruits at Sunday Bazaars across the city.

The prices of almost all popular fruits and vegetables fell by Rs2 - 20 per kg. Despite the decline, there were few customers. The vendors hoped that the situation would improve next week with the start of a new month and in anticipation of Eid. The shopkeepers said that though the prices had gone down, the number of customers remained low. “Potatoes and onion prices have declined but my sales have still not increased,” said Asghar Ali, a vegetable vendor in Wapda Town Sunday Bazaar. Another vendor Abdullah said that though vegetable crops had been damaged due to the recent floods, the prices remained stable. He said he had received fewer customers as compared to previous weeks. “Last week, I had about 120 customers, but this week the number of customers declined to 90,” he said, adding that the majority of those customers had purchased smaller quantities of goods as well. He predicted that the situation would improve next week, as people would have just received their salaries for the month, and also because that is to be the last Sunday bazaar before Eid.

A fruit seller, Shaan, said that the prices of grapes had gone down significantly while the prices of bananas and apples had also dropped. “The price of grapes was around Rs250 - 300 per kg on the first of Ramazan but now it has dropped to Rs120 - 140 per kg,” he said.

The price of potatoes declined by Rs4 per kg; it was available for Rs40-44 per kg whereas it was previously sold for Rs46-50 per kg. The prices of stored potatoes rose by Rs2 per kg; they were sold for Rs20-24 per kg, compared to last week when they were sold for Rs18-20 per kg. The price of onions fell to Rs23-27 per kg, compared to last week’s price of Rs25-29 per kg. The price of tomatoes dropped significantly; they were sold for Rs38-42 per kg, while last week they were available for Rs58-62 per kg. The price of bananas declined by Rs4 per dozen; they were available for Rs24-50 per dozen whereas they had been sold for Rs 28-58 per dozen. Apples were sold for Rs 25-75 per kg, while last week they were sold for Rs28-78 per Kg. The price of chicken meat was Rs170 per kg; last week, it was being sold for Rs172 per kg.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2010.