The slow pace of the monsoon is likely to impact the cultivation of vegetables. Traders at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) say that there will be no respite in vegetable prices in the next couple of months as the slow pace of the monsoon will delay the yield of vegetables.
During June, farmers sow seeds in Maharashtra and adjoining states including Karnataka and they start getting vegetables by the end of August. However, this year so far, due to the slow pace of the monsoon, many of the farmers have not even started sowing as they are expecting good rainfall.
According to traders, farmers clean their fields in mid-April for fresh showing. “The sowing starts by June and it continues till September depending upon the vegetables. We start getting by the end of August and get in a large number of green vegetables from October and November,” said Vipul Shah, a trader at APMC’s Vegetable market.
The vegetable prices are already soaring in the wholesale and retail market as the supply dip after mid-April as farmers go for fresh cultivation. “With the dip in supply, prices of most vegetables have already risen in the wholesale and retail markets. Most of the vegetables have seen around a up to 40 percent price rise. Traders at APMC say that the market will continue to receive low supply due to the onset of monsoon,” said another trader.
Supriya Rai, a Ulwe resident, says that the constant rise in essential commodities have severely impacted the household budget.
