Maharashtra: Veggies to be costly as supply dips due to rainfall; okra and cauliflower touch Rs 100 per kg

The prices of most vegetables have doubled in just a fortnight, following a dip in supply. Traders at the wholesale market said that supply had practically dried up following the steady rainfall over the last two weeks across the state and the high price of produce would continue for another two weeks at least.

Vegetable prices had been creeping up since mid-June and continued to do so in July, after there was heavy rainfall across the state. According to traders at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), vehicles are not arriving from many places due to waterlogging and the poor state of roads inside villages in the heartland. “Only small vehicles are arriving, carrying small quantities,” said Sanjay Pingle, an APMC trader.

The APMC Mumbai located at Vashi receives most of the vegetables from Nasik, Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli and other places in western Maharashtra and Karnataka. With most of Maharashtra witnessing heavy rainfall, supplies are short.

On July 20, the APMC received 450 vehicles laden with vegetables. However, the majority of them were small pick-up vans or tempos, that can only hold a limited quantity of produce. “Overall supply has dipped by around 40 to 50 per cent,” said an administrative official at the APMC. He added that the prices of some vegetables had risen as much as 60 to 100 per cent on account of low supply.

Normally, around 500 to 550 vehicles laden with vegetables arrive at the Mumbai APMC in Vashi. However, after mid-June, the supply has come down to 435-450 vehicles, of which more than 300 were small pick-up vans.