KENDRAPARA: Prices of most vegetables, which had been skyrocketing for last few months, are now falling sharply across Kendrapara district, thanks to a bumper harvest.
Vegetables of various kinds are now available in the markets with the prices crashing by almost half. The price of cauliflower has fallen to Rs 20 per piece against Rs 40 a few days back. Similarly, the price of brinjal which was Rs 30 per kg has now gone down to Rs 15 per kg. The price of pumpkin and tomato has gone down too.
“The prices of several vegetables have crashed by as much as 50 per cent. But prices of onion and potato are not falling. We hope within two weeks the prices of potato and onion will crash,” said Ajit Behera of Garapur.
While the reduction in price of vegetables may have brought cheer to consumers, the same cannot be said about the farmers who are suffering due to high fertiliser and irrigation costs this year, said Sarada Dalei, a farmer of Rajnagar.
Sangram Sahoo of Patkura said several traders from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other areas procure vegetables from the local markets at throwaway prices and sell them at malls for a premium.
“Exploitation by middlemen is rampant in vegetable trade as farmers always look to dispose of their produce at the earliest,” he said.