Heavy rains slash MMR vegetable prices by up to 35%

The slowdown in demand, coupled with high humidity and waterlogging inside the market, accelerated spoilage, forcing traders to dispose of stocks at reduced prices

Navi Mumbai: Incessant rains across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have driven wholesale vegetable prices down by up to 35% at the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), as waterlogging kept retail vendors and customers away, weakening demand and forcing traders to sell at lower rates to avoid spoilage.

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For the third consecutive day, rain disrupted trading at Maharashtra’s largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market. Vegetable arrivals dropped to around 300 vehicles on Friday from about 550 earlier this week, while nearly 25-30% of the produce remained unsold due to poor demand.

“Retail vendors and customers from several parts of the MMR stayed away because of widespread waterlogging, resulting in a sharp drop in demand and leaving a significant quantity of vegetables unsold,” said Saddam Raj, a trader at the Vashi APMC.

The slowdown in demand, coupled with high humidity and waterlogging inside the market, accelerated spoilage, forcing traders to dispose of stocks at reduced prices.

Wholesale prices of brinjal have dropped from ₹35-40 per kg to ₹25 per kg, okra from ₹55-60 to ₹40, cucumber from ₹45-50 to ₹32, bottle gourd (lauki) and chawli from ₹55-65 to ₹40, and ridge gourd (turai) from ₹70-80 to ₹50.

Tondli, capsicum and French beans, which were selling at ₹85-95 per kg before the rains, are now trading at around ₹60. Cauliflower has declined from ₹70-80 to ₹50 per kg, while cabbage has fallen from ₹35-40 to ₹28.

Radheshyam Gupta, a trader at the market said waterlogging of up to 2-2.5 feet in sections of the vegetable, fruit and spice markets disrupted loading and unloading operations, slowed the movement of vehicles and handcarts, and caused technical snags in some vehicles.

He added that recurring drainage issues continue to disrupt business every monsoon, causing losses for both farmers and wholesalers.

However, traders said the relief in prices could be short-lived. Prolonged heavy rainfall in cultivation belts such as Nashik and Pune could damage standing crops, reduce arrivals and push prices up once demand revives.

“If heavy rainfall continues in cultivation belts for another week or two, fresh arrivals may be affected and prices could rise again,” Gupta said.