COVID-19: Pineapple demand surges in S Africa over potential alcoholic kick
Johannesburg, May 6 () The sale of pineapples in South Africa has registered a ten-fold spike as people are tapping the properties of the spiky fruit to prepare a drink with an alcoholic kick during the lockdown amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Daily sales of pineapples have skyrocketed from an average of 10,000 to almost 100,000 as enterprising people use the fruit to brew their own beer while they are obliged to remain in their homes.
Alcohol sales have been prohibited in South Africa since the national lockdown, which is now in its 46th day and is expected to continue for several more months at differentiated national, provincial and local levels.
Brewers said that in the correct proportions, a mixture of pineapple, sugar and yeast will produce a drink with an alcoholic kick.
Prices of pineapples as well as availability in the marketplace have reacted proportionally to the demand, with the scarcity causing the fruit which could be bought for as little as five rands (USD 0.27) a piece before the lockdown now costing up to 20 rands (USD 1.09).
But there has also been some relief for lovers of potatoes and avocados, with prices having dropped substantially as the demand for these fell because all restaurants have been closed during the lockdown.
Potatoes are usually used extensively for the chips sold at thousands of takeaway shops around the country and avocados by sushi restaurants in more upmarket areas.
Meanwhile, feeding animals has taken an unusual turn in one of the country's conservation centres. The Crocworld Conservation Centre in the coastal town of Scottburgh in KwaZulu-Natal province took to the internet for the regular video talks and feedings that were extremely popular, especially with daily school group visits and overseas tourists before the lockdown forced its closure.
Now the Centre is hosting live video talks and animal feeds, which Crocworld manager Martin Rodrigues said was their contribution to bringing some ease to people forced to remain in their homes during the lockdown.
Besides the crocodiles that are reared at the farm, the live feeds include educational talks on the rare snakes and birds on the premises.
Interest in the videos have sparked interest globally, especially for the live question-and-answer sessions at the end of each talk.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly 150 people and infected more than 7,500 in South Africa. FH CPS AKJ CPS