Vegetable prices hit the ceiling

Prices of vegetables touch record high across markets; APMC officials blame earlier drought conditions that have hit supplies

The prices of your leafy greens, which were already on a high, have risen even further. The prices of spinach, coriander, and radish specially have gone up considerably because lesser number of trucks carrying these vegetables have been coming to the Agricultural and Produce Market (APMC) in Vashi. Traders claim that it will take over a month before prices of these vegetables stabilise.

Drought in the areas where the green vegetables are grown mainly Pune and Nashik has led to the rise in prices. File photo

“Drought in the areas where the green vegetables are grown mainly Pune and Nashik has led to the rise in prices. Circumstances may just improve as the rains have hit the city now. Things may get better in a month,” said Shankar Pingle, director of the vegetable market at APMC. Presently, only 40-45 trucks of leafy vegetables come into the market in a day.

One of the traders at the market said that prices of vegetables rise every year during the summers, but the drought has worsened matters. Madhukar Bhor, a vegetable trader, said that often, when prices of vegetables skyrocket, customers either buy lesser vegetables or cease to purchase that vegetable altogether. “We, as traders, cannot afford to store vegetables for a very long time. There are times when we sell vegetables at cheaper rates and incur losses,” added Bhor. On Saturday, 436 trucks of vegetables were seen entering the APMC vegetable market while 602 were seen leaving it.

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