Some mango sellers in Enugu on Friday decried low patronage as lockdown continued following the global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
Newsmen, who went round some markets in Enugu, observed that the price of mangoes was relatively low as patronage very low.
One of the sellers at New Market, Mrs Eunice Uka, said that mangoes were affordable to buy at the moment.
Uka added that buyers were not coming to patronizs the sellers as usual.
“Mangoes are quite affordable now but in spite of the affordability, sales have been very low.
“I expect buyers to come and buy in large quantities as they were doing in the previous years, but the reverse is the case as they are complaining of low cash flow due to the lockdown.
“The little quantity they buy from us does not increase our sales,” she said.
Miss Ruth Nwani, another mango seller at Garki Market, explained that she opted for the business due to its time and season.
“I regret going into mango business this year, the business is not like this previously.
“I made huge gain from it during its season last year but this year, the business is not moving as it should, resulting to lots of waste,” Nwani said.
Mrs Ada Onuorah, a mango seller at Mayor Market, said that seven pieces of mangoes now goes for N200 as against N500 at the beginning of the season.
Onuorah added that a basket of mangoes was formally sold between N8,000 and N8,500 in March but now it goes between N5,000 and N6,500 depending on the specie of mango.
A buyer at Garki market, who spoke anonymously, urged the government to make fruits extracting machines available in the country for processing of juice so as to avoid spoilage and waste of fruits during their season.
