NAN-HE-12
Fruits
Enugu, Oct. 24, 2017 (NAN) Fruit sellers in some markets in Enugu metropolis are witnessing high sales as residents have taken to fruits to mitigate the effects of the weather hot.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigerian (NAN), who conducted a market survey in some markets in Enugu on Tuesday, observed that many people were patronising fruit sellers.
Some of the sellers told NAN that it was the usual development following the change in climatic conditions in the state.
They told NAN that the business started yielding gains unexpectedly following the onset of hot weather, a marked change from the heavy rains experienced just two weeks ago in the State.
Mrs Ukamaka Onuorah, a banana seller at Amokwe Bus-Stop in Achara Layout told NAN that “the rains hardly allow us sell fruits two weeks ago.
“Now we are selling and making serious gains since the hot weather came in.
“It has changed the face of our business after the rainy season brought down the fruit business.
“It is not easy with me doing this business in the rainy season as I hardly finish my banana in a day because people find it difficult to patronise us during the rainy season.
“But now that hot weather has set in, I am always busy attending to customers,” she said.
Miss Vera Olua, an orange, paw-paw and pineapple seller at Mayor Market, explained that she stopped selling fruits during the rainy season.
She said that immediately the hot weather sets in, she quickly went into fruit selling again.
Olua said that she took advantage of the change in weather to return early enough “and I am at my stand just before 10 a.m. daily to attend to early customers.’’
At Kenyatta Market, Oluchu Eze, a graduate of Sociology, said she had been in the fruit business for five years, adding that she made brisk business from it especially during the hot season.
“I have been in this business for about five years and it has been helping me seriously because there is much gain in it only if you know how to preserve and keep them clean,” she said.
A buyer, Mr Johnson Eke at Kenyatta Market, said that he usually bought varieties of fruits such as orange, paw-paw, apple and banana because they helped him to cool down the effects of the hot weather. (NAN)
OJI/ECN/GY
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Edited by Emmanuel Nwoye/Grace Yussuf