Cauliflower prices come crashing down in Ludhiana as farmers’ protest causes veggie glut

As the routes leading to Delhi are closed due to the farmers’ stir, vegetables are being dumped in the wholesale mandis of Ludhiana.

The price of cauliflower, which till a few months ago was being sold at Rs 50/kg, has gone as low as Rs 2 in the wholesale market of Ludhiana.

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This free fall has been attributed to the glut-like situation resulting out of farmers’ protest at Delhi borders.

Rajinder Kumar, an arhtiya, said as the routes leading to Delhi are closed due to the farmers’ stir, vegetables are being dumped in the wholesale mandis of Ludhiana. “Earlier, vegetables from the neighbouring states used to be transported to Delhi. Farmers from Ludhiana were also selling their produce in the capital. But nowadays, instead of selling their crop in mandis or directly to customers, farmers are dumping it in the wholesale market before leaving to join the protesters at Singhu and Tikri borders,” the arhtiya added.

Same is the story of radish and carrot, which are being sold for Rs 2/kg and Rs 5/kg, respectively. The rates of onion and potatoes have also seen a dip, with the former being sold at Rs 20/kg and the latter settled at Rs 10/kg.

Karam Singh of Ek Allahi village in Khanna said he was getting about Rs 1.5 for a kilogram of cauliflower.

“If I include the expenditure of harvesting and transportation of cauliflower, one kilogram of crop costs me Rs 4 to Rs 6. I am running into losses. If vegetable rates don’t spring back, I will be left with no other option but to run tractor on my next cycle of crop which is due for harvest by next week,” he added.

Sahnewal’s Gurpreet Singh also airs a similar plight. He said that he had sold cauliflower between Rs 15 to Rs 25kg earlier this year. “Now, I am getting merely Rs 2/kg. Due to the protest, I could not take my produce to Delhi. So I have donated some of the crop to community kitchen for preparing langar,” Gurpreet said.

Prof Raj Kumar from the economic department of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) said the cost of cultivating a kilogram of cauliflower is about Rs 4.5 to Rs 5.

Prof Tarsem Singh Dhillon of PAU’s vegetable sciences department, meanwhile, sought rate regulation of the perishable crops to protect farmers from fluctuating prices.

“It is not the first time that vegetable growers are facing losses. This, in fact, is primarily the reason why farmers shift to wheat and paddy as these two crops offer assured price,” Dhillion added.

Hemant Dhawan, another vegetable arhtiya, said he has witnessed the slump in vegetables prices for the first time. “Be it radish, carrot, onion or potato, prices of all vegetables have crashed and strangely, there are not enough buyers,” Hemant said.

However, while the wholesale rates are nosediving, vendors are selling vegetables at premium prices.