BELGAUM: A bumper vegetable harvest combined with unseasonal rain thereafter, has resulted in plummeting of vegetable prices in Belgaum market for the last couple of weeks, with the unexpected development likely to benefit Goa in the days ahead.
According to information from Belgaum’s wholesale vegetable market, prices of vegetables are the lowest in comparison to prices in the last couple of years, due to which farmers are undergoing tremendous losses. For the first time since the last couple of years, Belgaum wholesale vegetable market is going through a phenomenal surplus, which is having an adverse effect on vegetable prices.
Umesh Patil of the wholesale vegetable market attributed the price crash to untimely rains due to which majority of the vegetables grown in Belgaum region were being harvested in haste and dumped in the wholesale market to avoid further losses.
“The extent of losses to farmers was such that they are even struggling to recover the cost of harvesting and transportation to Belgaum wholesale market,” Patil said.
Wholesale prices of some vegetables in Belgaum market as on Wednesday were cucumbers – Rs 5-8 per kg, tomatoes Rs 5-12 per kg, cauliflower Rs 8-10 per piece, cabbage Rs 3-5 per piece, brinjal Rs 8-12 per kg and potatoes Rs 15-20 per kg. Prices of all the other vegetables too have crashed and may remain so for the next couple of weeks.
“We have ample supply of vegetables. Goa’s vegetable production has also gone up marginally compared to last year. Also there is proper supply of vegetables. We cannot predict whether unseasonal rainfall will have impact in future,” Director of Agriculture, Orlando Rodrigues said.
According to Mahesh Chopade, a vegetable farmer from a nearby village, occasional rains have resulted in the rise in vegetable yield this year, however, the situation has brought a bane to farmers rather than a boon, he said, lamenting that it’s a rather tricky situation.
While Goans may enjoy the benefits of the prices plummeting for next couple of weeks, farmers are praying for the change in the situation so that they can recover the losses incurred this year.
