JAJPUR: On an upward swing in the last month, prices of most of the vegetables in the district have suddenly crashed leaving the farmers in a lurch. The sharp drop in prices has been blamed on over production and absence of cold storage and marketing facilities. Sources said almost all the markets across the district have started to receive a plentiful supply of vegetables in the last few days. As a result, vendors are now ignoring the fixed price list and selling vegetables as per their whims to exhaust the stock.
The price of tomato has dropped significantly. It is now available for Rs 10 per kg against the last month’s price of Rs 30. Vendors said the price could drop further as they expect huge supplies to the market in the coming weeks.Similarly, a kg of beans, which was sold for Rs 30 last month, is now being sold at Rs 15 in the market. Brinjal price has dropped from Rs 30 to Rs 20 a kg while bitter gourd, which was being sold at Rs 50 per kg last month, is available for Rs 30.
Green chilli price has dropped to Rs 50 per kg against the last month’s price of Rs 80. While cabbage is being sold at Rs 15-Rs 20 per piece, cauliflower is priced at Rs 10-Rs 15 in the market. Similarly, the price of peas, which was Rs 60 a few days back, is now being sold at Rs 40 a kg.
The prices of radish and turnip have also halved.
Farmers blamed over production and absence of cold storage facilities for the distress sale of vegetables. “We have had a bumper yield due to the conducive weather. However, we don’t have any cold storage facility to preserve our vegetables. As a result, we are forced to sell our produce at throwaway prices,” rued Rangadhar Nayak, a vegetable grower.