THE RECENT bad weather has been blamed for the high price of summer fruits such as cherries and apricots.
A quick survey of three Nicosia supermarkets yesterday saw cherries on sale for as much as €10.50 a kilo, while the top price for apricots was €6.15. Prices for medlars or mespila and okra are also high.
“They’re behind in producing because of weather conditions, so there are fewer cherries than usual, which of course raises the price,” said an official at the fruit producer association SEDYKEP.
He added that the middle-men traditionally also demand a high cut of the profits for perishable fruit like cherries in order to cover their losses.
The fruit growers themselves are quick to point out that they receive a fraction of the overall cost.
“What we get is very minimal. We won’t get more than half of what the consumer pays,” said one vegetable producer, Michalis Kaparis, adding that a lot of the profits are lost in the transport and trading of the goods. “They undergo a process so by the time it reaches the consumer a large price has been incurred,” he said.
Kaparis said the middle-man was necessary to ensure the transport and trade of the goods from the orchards to the supermarket. “It’s correct for them to get profits but not that much,” said Kaparis.
In three local supermarkets yesterday the price of cherries varied from between €9.89 and €10.50 per kilo, with the price of okra varying from between €5.72 and €6.40 per kilo. The price of medlars varied greatly between €4.95 and €6.83, along with the price of apricots which ranged from €4.75 to €6.15.
But the high prices are putting off consumers or at least getting them to shop around.
“I very rarely buy fruit that’s expensive these days. I try to avoid them but sometimes you’re tempted to have something you like,” said one shopper Stavroulla Pipis.
“If the prices are too high sometimes I may go to a cheaper supermarket, but I can’t stop buying fruit and vegetables,” said another shopper Marianna Angelides.
For Christos Ttofarides, however, the solution was simple. “I’m not buying any summer fruits. They are just too expensive.”
