Call for improved cooling as fresh goods feel the heat

Continued exposure to the summer heat is causing damage to huge quantities of fruits and vegetables at the wholesale market in Doha, it is learnt.

Sources told Gulf Times that fruits and vegetables sometimes remain exposed to hot and sultry conditions for hours, which makes them go bad and become unsuitable for sale.

Many goods, including perishables, arrive at the wholesale market by truck from neighbouring Gulf and Arab states around noon. They are often left in hot conditions for several hours before retailers come to collect them late in the evening, according to sources.

While local regulations require vegetables and fruits to be stored in places with proper cooling facilities, the dearth of such conditions at the market is taking a toll on the stocks, the sources explained.

This exposure causes damage — sometimes considerable — to the stocks during the summer, they added.

Some regular visitors to the market feel wholesalers are “compelled” to raise the prices of the remaining stocks to make up for the loss they suffer when vegetables and fruits rot in the heat.

Many customers, too, have stressed the need for better facilities at the market.

Courtesy: gulf-times.com