Fallen apple price sparks concern in Lagos

This sudden crash in the price of apples in Lagos metropolis, particularly Ketu area, where the popular Jakande fruits market is located, has generated mixed feelings from the public.As some members of the public patronised sellers of these apples, some people are sceptical about the condition of the apples, suspecting them to have either expired […]

This sudden crash in the price of apples in Lagos metropolis, particularly Ketu area, where the popular Jakande fruits market is located, has generated mixed feelings from the public.
As some members of the public patronised sellers of these apples, some people are sceptical about the condition of the apples, suspecting them to have either expired or had other problems.
Scores of the people interviewed by Daily Trust expressed fear over the situation and called on government to investigate the sudden crash in the price of apple.
Investigations revealed that apples are being imported into Nigeria majorly from France, China and South Africa but only apples from South Africa dominate the market because of its quality.
A major apple dealer in Jakande Market, Mrs. Ramat Abdul-Azeez, said the price of apples could be perceived in two ways at this time, it can be said it crashed because there are some sessions of products that are not really spoilt but are of various sizes.
She explained that apple is in season now and some cartons of apples contain about 257 pieces which are very small in size. These smaller sizes cannot be sold for the normal N50, 00 which a sizeable apple goes for, adding that is why the importers reduce the price.
According to her, because the size of this apple is too small to be sold for the average N50.00, distributors don’t usually buy but they load it along with other sizes by force.
She disclosed that a carton of apple which used to sell for N10, 000 is now N7000.00 with higher number of pieces in each carton.
“When it is out of season, we sell a carton for N10, 000, N9, 000 or N8, 500 depending on the sizes which could be 100, 110, or 120 pieces. In the next two or three months you can’t find that price again. For now, we are selling at N7, 000 with 159, 160 and 180 pieces.”
She said, “It’s just like harvesting oranges here, we separate them according to sizes and sell at different amounts. It’s also the case with the apples; it’s not as if they are spoilt or of low quality. Before now, those of us selling apples in cartons don’t buy that size because it attracts low patronage.”
Mrs. Abdul-Azeez said that the company decided to slash the prices instead of recording wastes as apples are perishables products that cannot be stored for a very long time.