Hyderabad: Banana prices have registered a spike in the city with a dozen costing Rs. 60 at the markets. A month and a half ago, the prices were around Rs. 40 a dozen on the streets and ten rupees more in the supermarkets.
The price increase is attributed by the fruit traders to the low supply and huge demand.
“During COVID-19 people did not buy bananas for fear of catching a cold. Hence farmers had stopped cultivating and supply has been affected since then. For two months the supply has further dipped as the farmers are preparing for a new crop,” said Bansilal, a trader at Mozamjahi Market fruit market.
Usually a staple fruit in most households, people buy-in on a daily basis from the hawkers on the streets. “Prices were all-time low in the last two years so farmers chose not to grow bananas. Hence the shortage,” said an office-bearer at Abdullapurmet fruit market.
Different varieties of bananas reach the city from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in trucks. In the city, several fruit traders set up ripening and storage points in localities and sell them to hawkers on a wholesale basis.
“Because of its high price people are not buying it. The myth of contracting a cold and cough after eating a banana is another reason for low sales. Many hawkers are not dealing with it and prefer other fruits,” said Junaid, a fruit seller at Charminar.
Another reason being the fruit market is now shifted to the Batta Singaram in Abdullapurmet. “Transportation cost of the fruit from Batta Singaram to the city increased threefold. An auto-rickshaw driver demands Rs. 2,000 as against Rs. 700 earlier for carrying the fruits to Mehdipatnam,” said Mohsin, a fruit vendor at Tolichowki.
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