The sale of vegetables has dimmed considerably in the fortnight after the Onam festivities but prices are seen moving up, buoyed by a shortage of supplies in the lean season as well as continuing restrictions on the movement of transport vehicles across State borders.
Vegetable sales have come down to about 50 per cent of the normal levels at the Ernakulam wholesale market. The pre-COVID-19 normal supplies comprised about 25 lorry loads of supplies. It has come down to 12 loads a day, said N. H. Shameed, Ernakulam Market Stall Onwers’ Association secretary and veteran wholesaler.
The price table published by the Vegetables and Fruits Promotion Council Keralam showed that produce like cowpea, carrot, beetroot, French beans, ginger, and tomato were selling at a higher level compared with the prices a fortnight ago.
Ginger was ruling over ₹100 a kg in the retail market while tomato was selling for ₹57 a kg. Bhindi costs ₹50 a kg while drumstick prices ruled ₹58 a kg in the retail market.
Henry Suro, a vegetable farmer said that there was a subdued demand for vegetable produce, including nendran banana, which was selling for ₹55 a kg in the retail market. Farmers were not getting great remunerative price. He said that the price was about ₹35 for ordinary nendran banana per kg while organic produce fetched ₹42 a kg in the wholesale market.
Mr. Shameed said that the price of big onions had to be watched now. The Union government had banned the export of onions in view of the market tendency. The price of small onions (shallots) was ₹60 a kg in the retail market in Ernakulam on Tuesday.
A shortage of supplies was the main reason for the price-rise, especially for vegetables produced outside Kerala, he said. The prices of potatoes, French beans, carrots, and some of the cold season vegetables had to be watched now, he said.
