Kombissiri: Tomato producers face poor sales

Tomato producers have been facing poor sales for several weeks, forcing some to sell the box for 60,000 to 7,500 FCFA and the basket for 3,000 to 500 FCFA, noted the AIB.The province of Bazèga is known for its various market gardening products. These products mainly supply the capital, Ouagadougou, from the Kombissiri market, the provincial capital in the Centre-Sud region.On Friday, September 20, 2024, market day in the town of Kombissiri, market gardeners from the villages of the commune of Kombissiri and neighboring communes converged there to sell their produce.In this rainy season, in addition to growing cereals, many farmers have focused on tomato production.However, the overproduction of this vegetable, which floods the Kombissiri market, is causing a sales crisis.The city's "2nd of June" square and the surrounding streets are occupied by numerous vendors of tomatoes, as well as other vegetables and fruits.Hundreds of crates and baskets of tomatoes are not finding buyers. Many producers, in their disarray, are forced to sell off their products.This is the case of Jean-Marie Dikodogo. "It's really sad. Since this morning, I've had trouble selling my tomatoes, yet I have to go back to the village before nightfall."For Mr. Dikodogo, it is the customers themselves who propose their prices.For a crate of tomatoes normally sold for more than 60,000 F, customers are offering to buy it for 7,500 F, and the basket for 500 F instead of the usual 3,000 F, he said indignantly.The same disappointment reigns among other producers. According to them, this situation of poor sales has been going on for several weeks."In this crisis of poor sales, it is the customers who are rubbing their hands while the producers are showing off their faces," regrets another.When we left the place around 5 p.m., producers, with crates and baskets full of tomatoes, were still waiting, hoping to be able to sell their products at a low price to the last customers, rather than leaving them to the animals that roamed arou nd.Source: Burkina Information Agency