Effa Tambenkongho
29 April 2008
For sometime it has been difficult for housewives to get a variety of fruits on their tables. The price of some fruits has been rising and others have been scarce or unavailable in the market. Most of them are seasonal frits. But for some time it has been difficult to know which fruits were seasonal. There have been oranges, tangerines, pineapples, grapes in the market but they were all expensive.
As for oranges they have always been expensive. They are available almost all year round. But one has to spend huge sums to buy a basketful for the family. What is more, some of the fruits in the heart of the dry season do not really have much juice. A look at the stalls will leave one with the impression that oranges are no longer seasonal fruits. On the other hand, pineapples are available all year round in many big markets and comparatively less expensive, and affordable to many households.
Now housewives will not only buy pineapples but can also include mangoes on their market lists. Mangoes are now available in the markets and are sold at affordable prices.
In Douala, many mango trees are still producing flowers though some are already developing fruits. It will take some weeks before trees in Douala begin to produce mature mangoes. But the in South West Province where many mangoes trees produce fruits twice a year they are already available. Women buy from the remote markets and sell to middle women "(buyam-sellams)" who in turn transport then to the groceries and fruit stalls in Douala.
Prices may continue to rice because some traders from Gabon are infiltrating the local markets while some buy in bulk (buying the fruits on trees). Most of these traders offer attractive prices. So the owners prefer to deal with them. The owners sell to them and they harvest everything living just a few unripe fruits "where we can reap». A local trader complained while explaining the high prices.
Susan Zenabou, a fruit trader in the Bonapriso market said she buys mangoes from the "buyam-sellams" who come from the South West. She said they are not very cheap as the public imagine .She admitted that now that the mangoes are just the first fruits, many people are afraid to buy them. She said most of her customers complain that they always suffer from running stomach when they eat the first mangoes fruits. She also added that some people accuse them of selling mangoes that have been harvested before they get ripe.
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