Vegetable prices dip in Indore as supply improves

Consumers have something to cheer about as vegetable prices have come off their peak levels. Traders attribute it to increase in supply and farmers say that the output has gone up because of favorable weather conditions.

Consumers have something to cheer about as vegetable prices have come off their peak levels witnessed earlier this week. Traders attribute it to increase in supply and farmers say that the output has gone up because of favorable weather conditions.

Earlier this week, prices of tomato and certain green vegetables had shot up because of unseasonal rains. Prices of vegetables including spinach, fenugreek, cucumber, tomato and many other seasonal vegetables have now come down by about 20%. While tomato prices have come down from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 20 per kg, onion and potato prices have also come down marginally in the past two to three days.

"The supply has increased and prices have come down even though demand continues to be high due to marriage season," wholesale trader Vinod Kumar told Hindustan Times.

"Harvesting of vegetables like spinach and fenugreek (methi) is in full swing and so there has been a steep fall in the prices of green leafy vegetables. This will put pressure on prices of other vegetables," Kumar said.

"Shrinkage in area under vegetable cultivation has also become a matter of concern as villages near the urban areas are giving way to townships," said agriculture expert Samar Singh.

The onus, say experts, is on the government to make agriculture more profitable for farmers to stop selling the fertile land.