Ven­dors at the South­ern Whole­sale Mar­ket in Debe say they are forced to cut their prices, sell­ing be­low cost price and in some cas­es giv­ing away pro­duce be­cause peo­ple sim­ply can­not af­ford to buy.

Veg­etable prices soared high this week with toma­toes sell­ing for $25 per pound, sweet pep­pers $30 per pound and me­l­on­gene at $22 per pound.

Food prices in the Debe Market, on Thursday 22 December 2022. [Image by Kristian De Silva]

But to­day, small lo­cal­ly grown toma­toes sold for two pounds for $12. Sea­son­ing prices re­mained high with pars­ley sell­ing for $140 a bun­dle, cel­ery $10 a bun­dle and chive $12.

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This is a de­vel­op­ing sto­ry and Guardian Me­dia will up­date it as more in­for­ma­tion comes to hand.