Rains do the trick, veg prices plunge

MUMBAI: Every cloud has a silver lining. Vegetable prices in Mumbai have fallen about 15-20% ever since rains hit the city in the past few days. Being perishable commodities, the vegetables cannot be stored for more than a couple of days so traders and vendors are trying to exhaust their stocks as soon as possible to reduce wastage.

The retail price of tomatoes, which have been in short supply, is currently down at Rs 20 per kilo from Rs 25-30 a kilo last week. “Prices of fruits and vegetables will come down further now that the monsoons have hit the western coast,” said Kiran Zodge, head of APMC Vegetable Market Association & Byculla Market Association.

He, however, warned that “farmers could withhold stock if prices fall below a certain level or sell in markets where they can get better prices.”

Currently, about 250-300 trucks arrive in the APMC market in Vashi from Karnataka, Belgaum, and Kohlapur. However, they have been erratic due to the weather, said Mr Zodge, adding that if this situation carried on for a few more days it would cause supply problems.

Farmers have so far not benefited from high costs of the essential commodities as much of the added cost is due to high transport, fuel and octroi, market sources said.

Ashok Hande, advisor, Fruit & Vegetable Market Association, APMC, Mumbai, says, “This is the month before Shravan (the Hindu month of abstinence) when people consume more meat, which they abstain from during Shravan, which starts by the end of July. During this month vegetable prices are expected to be lower as the demand for vegetables reduces.”

Poor farm yield in the state this year, has led to vegetables from Karnataka and Gujarat making their way into Mumbai. Last year, there was a bumper crop of tomatoes, which saw many rotting in the absence of any takers.