Banana trade booms in Lusaka

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes

@SunZambian

SELLING of bananas in Lusaka’s streets has boomed to unprecedented levels with some traders boasting of making ‘reasonable’ profits enough to keep their families going.

One banana trader, John Tembo told the Sun that he sold, about six crates of bananas every day at K1 each per fruit enabling him to make a profit of more than K600.

Mr Tembo said that it was through bananas that he managed to pay rentals and take care of wife and two children.

“I started this business in 2015 and I manage to pay rentals from it. Sometimes all my six crates of bananas finish in a day. I order my bananas from town,” he said.

Mr Tembo has since urged residents, especially the youths roaming the streets to venture into banana business and earn a living.

He explained that banana vending could be embarrassing sometimes but it was better than staying home doing nothing.

“The profit depends on how much you order in a day; the bananas are sometimes expensive but you have to hold on. It is difficult to say the exact amount of money one makes in a day.  You will find that sometimes you make K100 or K150 in a day,” Mr Tembo said.