Vendors look for customers in sizzling heat

The prices of vegetables remained stable in the Sunday bazaars despite high petroleum prices; however, the number of customers remained low because of the harsh weather. There has been an increase in prices of potatoes while the prices of other vegetables such as garlic, ginger, tomato, spinach, cucumber and peas decreased.
The price of onion remained stable and it sold for Rs 14 per kg. The price of tomatoes came down by Rs 7 per kg and it and it sold for Rs 15 per kg. Similarly the price of ginger dropped by Rs 7 per kg and it sold for Rs 95 per kg. The prices of fruits remained high.
The vendors said that though prices remained lower than previous weeks, there has been a decrease in the number of customers due to the sizzling heat.
“The prices were around Rs 2-5 per kg less than last week but still not that much customers,” said vegetable vendor Jamshed Ahmed. Citing another reason for a decrease in the numbers of customers, he said: “There have been heavy purchases by the customers last week and now this week there are fewer customers,” he said. Another vendor Fazil Khan said that the number of customers improved later in the day, when the temperatures dropped.
“There were relatively fewer customers in the day but in the evening the number of customers improved,” he added. The customers welcomed low prices but complained about the quality of vegetables and fruits. “Nobody is ready to take action against low quality of fruits and vegetables despite many complaints,” said a customer, Sajid Irshad.