The vegetable prices at Al Sailiya Central Market have seen a slight increase after the conclusion of Eid al-Adha holidays, but local produce helped stabilise the prices in general, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.
Recently a 6kg box of tomatoes were priced at QR21, an 8kg box of eggplants at QR17, 10kg of cabbage at QR10, capsicum box of around 8kg at QR24, and QR38 for around 4kg of mint leaves. Among imported vegetables, a 5kg box of potatoes were sold for QR28, 6kg of cauliflower for QR24, and 5kg of onion for QR12.
Besides local produce, the market displays fresh vegetables and fruits from countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, India and Iran.
Mohamed Bakhit al-Marri, a customer, noted there are clear variation in the retail prices of the same item from one seller to another within the market. However, he stressed that the overall prices are lower compared to the other retailers elsewhere, especially when buying by box.
Abdulla al-Surur, another customer, said though prices are marginally higher than before but still within the reasonable range. There are good quantity of different fresh vegetables and fruits on display at the market, something not easy to find at other places under one roof.
Ahmed al-Emasi , also a customer, observed that prices after Eid holidays are higher and stressed that sellers should take extra care to maintain the freshness of their products for as long as possible.
Khalil al-Shehabi, a seller, said that the prices are mainly governed by the demand and supply, and this applies for both the local and imported types. He pointed out that the sellers are keen to sell their products as soon as possible especially during the summer season because vegetables go bad quickly. So, most of them would accept any profit margin to avoid potential losses.
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