Garlic prices down by half, homemakers relieved

This week, the wholesale price at the Vashi APMC market has hovered around ₹80-100 per kg for desi garlic, and ₹100-150 per kg for Ooty garlic

NAVI MUMBAI: The price of garlic, which had touched ₹350-375 per kg at the Vashi APMC wholesale market in February this year, has reduced by more than half owing to an uptick in supplies from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Traders said prices were unlikely to spike again in the near future, while homemakers were relieved at the reduction amidst a rise in prices of other vegetables.

The price of garlic has reduced by more than half. Representational Image

This week, the wholesale price at the Vashi APMC market has hovered around ₹80-100 per kg for desi garlic, and ₹100-150 per kg for Ooty garlic, which has bigger pods.

Manohar Totlani, a wholesale trader at the market, said prices had remained high during the past two months as the old stock was depleted and new arrivals were wet and of inferior quality.

“There was hence a huge demand for the old stock and the prices had zoomed,” said Totlani. Fresh supply from Indore and other places in Madhya Pradesh as well as Uttar Pradesh had eased the prices, he added.

“Around 10 vehicles carrying 2,500 to 3,000 bags of garlic have been arriving at the market daily, nearly double the 1,500 bags earlier that were arriving earlier,” he said.

Prakash Shinde, another wholesaler, echoed Totlani while warning of short-term fluctuations. “Prices may vary by ₹30-40 per kg depending on daily arrivals,” he said.

Navras Sadas, also a wholesale trader said although the supply situation had improved, the best quality garlic was yet to reach the market, and the little that was coming was priced at a premium.

“Several traders stock the really good quality garlic in the fields since it can last long. There is very little of this stock that is coming to the market, and it costs 1.5 times the regular stock, so it is not feasible for the retail market,” Sadas said.

The drop in prices was reflected in the retail market as well. “We are selling garlic at ₹250-300 per kg; earlier, it had gone up to ₹550-600 per kg,” said Anurag Gupta, a vegetable retailer in Vashi.

Gupta too said the recent stock was not the best in terms of quality. “The higher quality produce is costlier and will not get buyers in the retail market where a lot of bargaining takes place,” he said.

Vaishali Adsul, a homemaker from Vashi, said the reduction in garlic prices was welcome relief at a time when prices of all other commodities were increasing.

“It will certainly help us manage our home budget in these inflationary times,” said Adsul. “We had to be extremely careful about the quantity of garlic we bought last month when the price had shot through the roof. Hopefully, the price will not shoot up again and prices of other vegetables will come down too.”