Doha - As summer has descended on the country and most people avail of their annual vacations, prices of fruits and vegetables have fallen, a trend that is expected to continue until the end of August.
Qatar imports 90 per cent of its fruits and vegetables, chiefly from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Total volume of imports per month is QR25m and the volume of transaction from local produce is QR2m. There are 25 fruit and vegetable importers in the country.
On reason for prices going down is that plenty of seasonal fruits and vegetables are available this time of year. According to veteran trader Abu Khalifa Abdulla Al Khalaf: "At the moment, we are selling at even lower prices than what the produce cost in the country of origin. This has been going on for the last couple of weeks and we expect this to continue until at least the end of August."
Citing an example, he said while cherries were selling for the equivalent of QR10 per kg in Lebanon, the fruit was being sold here for QR6 a kg. For lettuce, the price is the same as it is when sold at auction, he said.
"I can also say that Qatari produce is good but the only problem is the packaging. As most of the produce is grown by individuals, they are unaware of the latest packing techniques and tend to use the packing materials over and over again," he said.
Not too long ago, prices of fruits and vegetables were going though the roof. Al Khalaf said that limited amounts of produce could be brought in because of a lack of storage facilities in the country.
"We had asked the relevant authorities for 8,000 square metres of cold storage space in the Industrial Area but were only allotted 2,000 square metres," he said. The trader said that it naturally follows that the more the storage space, the more the amount of fruits and vegetables that can be brought in and with the plentiful supply, prices would also dip.
However, for the time being, prices have indeed dropped. Another trader, Fattah Khalaf, told an Arabic daily: "Prices will continue to fall until the vacations come to an end. Now for example, perishable items like apricots have to be sold almost immediately. While I am paying QR10 for a 3.5 kg box of apricots, I am forced to sell the same box for QR5,'" he said.
© The Peninsula 2007
