Kiwi fruit prices soar in Bengaluru as dengue fear rises

Bengaluru: Suffering from viral fever and have a suspicion that it may be dengue? Eat kiwi fruit! The dengue fever outbreak in the city has now led to a spurt in the sales of kiwi fruit having the label Zespri, Green, New Zealand. Even though doctors are clueless about the medicinal value of this fruit and its effectiveness in treating the dengue fever, sales continue to zoom, leading to a spurt in the price of the fruit.

It all started a few weeks ago with a few parts of the city witnessing a dengue fever outbreak. Following the outbreak, the kiwi fruit has now entered almost all the vegetable shops in the popular belief among patients that the consumption of this fruit will help them increase the platelet count in their blood.  But doctors treating the patients are clueless.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr. Rajeshgowda, a vegetable vendor in Malleshwaram informed that till June, there was no demand for this fruit. “I had also not heard about this fruit. But once I started to hear about dengue fever in my area, I also came to know about this fruit. Following the demand from consumers I am also now selling this fruit. The rate was around Rs 25 to Rs 30 per fruit. But now it is Rs 40. Every day I am selling around 40 fruits. Many are taking this fruit as a precautionary measure,” he explained.

“I do not know from where it is supplied. We are receiving containers from the wholesale dealers. These fruits are sold with a bar code. Earlier it was used in the preparation of fruit salads. But now the demand is more from dengue patients,” he explained.

Even the doctors say they have no clue about its medicinal value. “I came to know about this fruit and the belief that it is good, from the dengue patients themselves. I never refer it. As a doctor, I do not recommend it. But everyone is choosing it,” says Dr. GK Bhat, a family physician from Vijayanagar.