Vegetable yards doing brisk businessMay 11 2020 01:45 AM

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment’s (MME) yards for selling local agricultural produce continue to draw customers, selling around 1,500 tonnes of vegetables in the first two weeks since the start of Ramadan.
The yards at Al Mazrouah, Al Wakra, Al Sheehaniya, Al Khor-Al Thakhira and Al Shamal have been offering consumers a quality and safe experience of shopping for fresh vegetables, catering to the needs of consumers on a daily basis during the holy month.
According to local Arabic daily Arrayah, the yards offer over 60 types of vegetables produced by a good number of local farms. These items are sold to consumers at low prices compared to other outlets and retailers. These include cauliflower, cucumber, cabbage, different types of pepper, onion, eggplant, mushroom and various types of leafy vegetables alongside other fresh products.
Prices at the yards have remained stable for most vegetables since the start of Ramadan, with some types – such as tomatoes – being sold for particularly low rates. A box of tomatoes was being sold for QR8 recently, while a box of cucumber cost QR10, cabbage QR10, zucchini QR15 and onion QR8. The price of capsicum of different types ranged from QR25-30 depending on the type.
In view of the current situation, the yards are strictly following preventive and precautionary measures to prevent any chances of Covid-19 infection. These include regular disinfection and sanitisation of the premises, allowing a limited number of customers inside as far as possible, checking the body temperature of customers, workers and sellers before being admitted inside the yards, and making sure that everyone wears facemasks and gloves while shopping, the report states.
In spite of the rising temperature, the participating local farms have continued to supply their fresh produce to yards on a daily basis due to the advanced farming technology they use and the efforts exerted by the entities concerned, especially the MME, to support them and help them enhance their productivity in terms of quantity, quality and extending the farming season as much as possible.
The yards are open daily during Ramadan from 7.30pm until midnight.