Shortage of carrots sends prices escalating in Moshi

What you need to know:

The production of carrot in northern zone of Tanzania is mostly depending more on season rains, which were not sufficient.

Moshi. Prices of carrots rose by 60 per cent for a 100-kilo bag between the end of last year and the start of this month in Moshi Municipality, a survey by The Citizen shows.

Retailers attribute the situation to the produce shortage in markets due to drought.

Saler Mwanaidi Abdalah told The Citizen: “We used to buy a bag of carrots at Sh150,000, but the price has jumped. Prolonged dry spell is the main reason for the price rise. There is an acute shortage of quality carrots and those which are available are inferior.”

Retailer Rogasian Kimaro said the production of vegetables had generally fallen.

Even tomatoes have become scarce and prices have climbed. “A container of tomatoes is now sold at between Sh50,000 and Sh55,000, up from Sh30,000. We are forced to import the produce from Kenya to meet the local demand.” Kilimanjaro agriculture officer Simon Msoka confirmed that carrot production was low, sending prices escalating.

According to Medical News Today, carrots are often thought of as the ultimate health food. Generations of parents have told their children: “Eat your carrots, they are good for you,” or “Carrots will help you see in the dark.”

It noted that people probably first cultivated the carrot thousands of years ago, in the area now known as Afghanistan. It was a small, forked purple or yellow root with a bitter, woody flavor, quite different from the carrot we know today. Purple, red, yellow, and white carrots were grown long before the appearance of the sweet, crunchy, and aromatic orange carrot that is now popular.