Vegetables and fruits prices double in four months

KATHMANDU, May 27: The prices of vegetables and fruits have more than doubled over four months, amid a supply deficit that resulted from the huge decline in their production. [break]



The daily arrivals of vegetables in Kalimati market--the largest vegetable wholesale center--has dropped to an average of 400 tons, from 650 tons, as major vegetable-producing districts are now producing less vegetables than they used to before. During the long drought of the past winter season, the vegetables farms that didn´t have irrigation facilities could not cope well.



“Farmers failed to plant vegetables in time during the winter. The late plantation, together with the subsequent long dry season, pushed the vegetable production down,” Binaya Shrestha, planning officer at the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Board told myrepublica.com.



According to the board, the price of tomatoes has almost doubled to Rs 30 per kg as compared to the price recorded in the last week of January. The price of potatoes has also ballooned to Rs 38 over the same period, from Rs 14 per kg over the last week in January.



Other popular vegetables, such as carrots, cabbages and cauliflowers, have also had their prices go up significantly. Only the price movement of dry onions followed a deviant path--the price almost halved to Rs 18 per kg.



The scarcity of vegetables in the market, which led to the higher prices, has been further compounded now. Traders say that some of the major vegetables sourced from India have not entered the capital for the last couple of weeks, and the inflow of vegetables produced in key districts of Tarai has also plunged.



“Potatoes have now completely stopped arriving from India because India is also facing a shortage due to the lower production there during last winter,” said Bharat Uppreti, a wholesaler of potatoes and onions in Kalimati market.



“And it´s not only Kathmandu Valley that´s suffering. Even towns along the India-Nepal border are reeling because of the shortage of Indian potatoes.”



With the decline in the volume of potatoes arriving from India, the Kathmandu Valley is depending on potatoes sourced from neighboring places around the city, such as Nala, Banepa, Mudhe, Jiri and Panauti.



And that´s not all. The prices of fruits too are skyrocketing. The prices of apples and bananas also shot up to Rs 100 per kg and Rs 45 per dozen, from Rs 75 per kg and Rs 25 per dozen, respectively. Similarly,the price of oranges also rose to Rs 30 per kg, from Rs 16 four months ago.

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