“Except for the vegetables coming from India, supply has remained largely unaffected as banda enforcers have not disrupted vehicles at night,” said Bharat Khatiwada, president of Kalimati Vegetable Wholesalers´ Association. [break]
Around 500 tons of vegetables entered the market on Friday, down by 30 percent compared to normal days. Still traders are selling vegetables at almost half the price as there are not getting customers because of the strike.
“Lack of storage facilities is the major problem at the market because of which traders has to bear huge loss during summer and strikes,” added Khatiwada.
On normal days, daily arrivals of vegetables at the market hovers around 700 tons.
The price of vegetables such as dried garlic, dried onion and potato that can be stored for longer period has not gone down much, but price of other vegetables have fallen down drastically.
On Friday, price of tomatoes went down by as much as Rs 18 per kg compared to Wednesday and is selling at Rs 22 per kg. Similarly, prices of seasonal vegetables like green peas, broccoli, bottle gourd, cabbage, carrot, onion (green), brinjal, and local cauliflower, among others, also dropped by 10 to 50 percent compared to normal days.
Geeta Prasad Acharya, a vegetable wholesaler at Kalimati, said that strike has greatly affected traders as sales have come down. “We are selling vegetables at half the price to some retailers, who come to the market early in the morning (from 4 am to 6 am),” said Acharya.
Price of onion has dropped down by Rs 2 per kg to Rs 16 per kg, while carrot has dropped to Rs 20 per kg from Rs 32 per kg. Similarly, local cauliflower and white radish are selling at priced at Rs 20 per kg each, down by Rs 16 and Rs 6 per kg respectively compared to Wednesday.
Cabbage and pumpkin have also become cheaper by Rs 4 each and are selling at Rs 18 per kg each. Green peas and French beans have become cheaper by Rs 10 and were traded at Rs 40 and Rs 30 per kg respectively on Friday.
Likewise, prices of bottle gourd and smooth gourd have come down by Rs 5 per kg each and are selling at Rs 25 and 35 per kg respectively.
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