Vegetable prices have sky-rocketed in the city markets as yield and supply of fresh vegetables were hit hard by torrential precipitation due to cyclonic activity. Buyers have to pay about twice and more of what they were paying a few weeks ago. And the situation is likely to worsen if another spell of heavy rainfall comes this monsoon, said experts.
“The vendors in Ranchi get their vegetables mostly West Bengal or from local farms. With vegetable farms in both the sources adversely affected by water-logging, supply of vegetables has dwindled substantially in recent times. Roadways have also been rendered unfit for transport due to floods and water-logging, which makes hauling fresh produce from neighbouring States costlier and time-taking, again shrinking the stocks,” said Anita Das, General Secretary of Ranchi Footpath Dukandar Hawker Association.
“With supply being only half of what it used to be and the demand remaining constant, the prices have gone up,” she added.
“The lady’s finger that was being sold for the price of Rs. 15 a kilogram in the last week of July is now priced at Rs. 40. Onion prices have gone up to `50 a kilogram in the past couple of days,” informed a Kanke-based greengrocer Raju.
In addition to diminishing supply, absence of adequate storage facilities for street-side vegetable vendors, who fulfil the demands of a significant part of the market, results in their stock going bad.
The situation will prevail for the rest of the monsoon if rainfall follows the trends in recent past.
“Heavy rainfall in the past few days had damaged the ready to harvest produce in the fields. If the rest of the monsoon goes by without any spells heavy rainfall, the increased moisture in the soil will benefit the crops. But heavy rainfalls again will produce similar results. The chances of pest and insect infestation in crops are also quite high during monsoon,” stated BAU Agriculture Scientist A. Wadood.
“Rise in prices have not translated in better profit margins for the vegetable vendors either. With increase in prices and declining quality, buyers do not frequent vegetable markets as they used to,” Das said.
It will be only after monsoon that vegetable prices stabilise, stated Das. Meanwhile, the common man is fated to accept the existing prices.
“We have to eat no matter what the prices are,” said Vinod, a tea stall owner.