Food prices stabilise at Kariakoo market

Wholesale and retail prices for assorted food items at the central Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam remained stable during the week to November 22 this year, compared with prices during the week that ended on November 15.

However, retail prices for yams increased, while those of green bananas and cabbages faltered downwards.

Reports of the Kariakoo Market Corporation (KMC) for the weeks to November 15 and November 22 this year showed that retail prices for sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, avocados, pineapples, oranges, carrots and green peppers remained constant during the period under review.

However, the wholesale price for a 100-kilogramme bag of sweet potatoes dropped to Sh80,000, down from Sh90,000. The same applies for Irish potatoes, whose wholesale price for a 100-kilo bag dropped from Sh75,000 to Sh40,000.

The retail price for a ‘regular bundle’ of green bananas (5-7 pieces) fell to a maximum of Sh2,000 during the week to November 22, compared to what it was during the week that ended on November 15. The price stood at Sh3,000.

The KMC reports also showed that the wholesale price for green bananas (10-50 kilogrammes a bunch) sourced from Mbeya, Morogoro, Tanga, Kilimanjaro and Kageraregions remained unchanged at around Sh17,000.

The wholesale price for cabbages also fell, dropping from Sh1,800 a cabbage head during the week that ended on November 15 to Sh1,500 apiece during the week to November 22.

In like manner, the wholesale price for the commodity during the period under review dropped to Sh130,000 for a standard crateful of cabbages, falling from Sh140,000 per crate during the previous week. On the other hand, the retail price for a bundle of yams rose by 33 per cent – from Sh1,500 to Sh2,000 per a bundle – although the wholesale price had slightly gone down from Sh120,000 to Sh110,000 per crate-load.