Fruit was one of the staples of iftar during Ramadan, and prices stayed high throughout the month. On the second day of Eid the price of watermelon came down somewhat, but imported fruit is still selling at high prices.

City dwellers are visiting relatives during the Eid holiday and taking fruit with them. The higher prices have made things uncomfortable for middle- and lower-income buyers. This was the picture in several Dhaka markets on Sunday, 22 March.

The fruit market was very expensive at the start of Ramadan, when watermelon sold for Tk 80 to 100 a kg. Towards the end of Ramadan it sold for Tk 70 to 80. Today watermelon is selling for Tk 50 to 60 a kg.

Sellers said it is now watermelon season and supply is plentiful. Demand and prices were high during Ramadan; now that demand has fallen, prices have dropped somewhat.

Tofazzel Alam, a fruit trader at Mirpur-11, said watermelon supply is now high and prices are within buyers' reach.

A buyer named Shimu, who was buying watermelon at the market, said: "I'm going to a relative's house, so I bought watermelon and some other fruit. Watermelon is a little cheaper, but you can't buy other fruit for under Tk 300."

At Taltola and Shewrapara markets, pomegranate was selling for Tk 500 to 530 a kg, malta for Tk 300 to 320, apples for Tk 350 to 380, white grapes for Tk 350 to 360, oranges for Tk 320 to 350, pears for Tk 380 to 400 and gala strawberries for Tk 360 to 400.

A buyer named Sajid Ahmed said: "Fruit prices were very high throughout Ramadan. Fruit is now out of reach of the middle class. There are elderly people in my family, so I bought a few apples for them."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.