"The prices of almost all the vegetables have gone down by around Rs 4 to Rs 20 per kg compared to the price during Dashain," said Bharat Khatiwada, president of Kalimati Vegetable Wholesaler´s Association. He attributed the situation to increase in supplies from the neighboring districts and low demand.[break]
Traders said the supply of vegetables in the Kalimati wholesale market, the main distribution outlet for the Valley, has gone up significantly with the end of the festive season. Demand, on the other hand, has remained on a lower side compared to other period, as a large number of people that left the capital to their home town for festive celebrations are yet to return.
"This imbalance of demand and supply is the main factor behind the drop in prices," Khatiwada added.
Wholesale price of vegetables such as tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, brinjal, cow pea, green peas, French bean, sword bean, bottle gourd, pointed gourd, squash, lady´s finger and barela among others have come down by Rs 4 to Rs 20 per kg on Tuesday compared to last week.
With the reduction in price, tomato is available at Rs 40, onion at Rs 28, cabbage at Rs 28, cauliflower at Rs 20, red radish at Rs 25, white radish at Rs 18, long brinjal at Rs 20, cow pea at Rs 40, green peas at Rs 70, French bean at Rs 18, sword bean at Rs 60, bottle gourd at Rs 20, pointed gourd at Rs 30, squash at Rs 18, lady´s finger at Rs 35 and barela at Rs 20 per kg.
“If we compare the price before Dashain and now, price of many vegetables have come down by almost 50 percent,” said Geeta Prasad Acharya, a wholesaler at Kalimati vegetable market. He added that the market is receiving large amount of vegetables but the demand is not that high as many people who have gone outside the valley are yet to come back.
According to Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board (KFVMDB), normally around 500 to 600 tons of vegetables used to enter the market daily. But now as it is the harvest season of many vegetables, the market is receiving around 800 to 900 tons a day. During Dashain the market was receiving around 700 tons.
“The market is receiving more vegetables than the normal period due to uninterrupted supply from neighboring districts as the production is higher this year in many districts,” said Khatiwada.
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