Rainfall in HP causes dip in vegetable supply

In a sharp decline from daily consignments which used to be averaging 4500 kgs imported here,in the last two weeks of September only two consignments of peas reached the city,weighing 680 kg and 360 kg.

Capsicum,too,dodged the mandis for a day with the total supply decreasing to 2285 bags in comparison to 3635 bags in August,a less of about 4000 kgs in total,with the daily arrivals decreasing to half.

“The rains have led to crop failure and also hindered the transportation leading to lesser consignments reaching Chandigarh,causing an early disappearance of some vegetables,” says Amit,auction recorder at Grain Market. The quality is degraded and the prices are expected to be higher till the local harvest from Punjab arrives,” he adds.

Cauliflower has seen decreased exports of 2,969 bags from 4,681 in August,with an average daily supply of 10,000 kg,reducing to 1,200 kg on some days.

As a result,the prices of the vegetables have increased exponentially over the same period. Peas have been selling for Rs 130 per kg this week and cauliflower is priced at Rs 100 in retail markets.

However,some villages have not been affected by the rainfall in Himachal Pradesh. Onion and tomato,both of which are being imported from Maharashtra,have remained relatively unaffected,while potato imports are picking up.

“A vegetable that has registered a reverse trend,exhibiting an arrival of double over the last month with the price reducing from Rs 70 to 15 per kg in the mandis is cucumber,September- October being the season for its cultivation,” says Amit. Ginger and lemon are other vegetables that can be bought at a lesser price since last month,averaging at around Rs 20 per kg.