Scarcity pushes prices up

In East Africa, according to www.foonet.cgiar.org, as per 2002, Uganda had the highest pineapple production. 10 years later, the production has gone down, yet the demand remains high.

Pineapples are not only eaten as fresh fruits but there are a wide range of bi-products made out of them like alcoholic drinks, jam beverages and juice.

Ms Fatuma Mugwanya, a trader at Nsambya market says there aren’t as many pineapples as there should be on the market. She says this is due to the unpredictable weather lately.

“I think the pineapple is less available on the market due to the long dry spell that has gone on for quite long,” she says. “Even when the rains came, the production didn’t and hasn’t increased as much.”

Scarcity of the fruit usually means that the price will increase too. Mr Allan Namara, at Namuwongo market says when the prices are up, there are less people who buy the fruit. Depending on the size of the pineapple, one fruit will cost the traders Shs2,000 to Shs5,000 and then sell them Shs500 and Shs1, 500 more depending on where one (or the market) is located.

Mr Namara says the reason why many people don’t want to buy pineapples is because the size of the fruit is not worth the money. The traders haven’t much say and are only there to do business.

When buying from the farmers, it’s upon the trader to choose the number and size of the fruit that they prefer, then later on, bargain. Mr Namara usually selects 50 pineapples which he says in the dry season, could get finished in a day or two because many people buy them to quench their thirst. However, in the rainy season, there are not that many people that buy them. So, this means that he could have unsold pineapples for a whole week.

Considering the fact that the preservation methods are not the best, Ms Mugwanya says that this usually makes the fruits wither fast. “And if the pineapple is withered, no one will want to buy it because it won’t be as sweet as it would be when fresh. Sometimes we end up eating the fruits ourselves,” she laments. The pineapples are best kept in a cool dry place; direct sunshine makes them wither faster.

Ms Mugwanya says there are three types of pineapples. There is the small one, the one that remains green on the outside when ripe, and the one that turns yellow on the outside when ripe. She says most people prefer the small one because it is very sweet yet it’s the rarest type. In a month, she says, it may be gotten only twice.

Kayunga and Luwero are still the major growers of the fruit but other districts like Tororo, Mbale and Namutumba do supply the fruit.