Veggie, pulse stocks shrink as few trucks reach market

PUNE: The nationwide transporters’ strike has brought down supply of potatoes by 50% and grains, including the varieties imported from California and Argentina, to the city by 20%.
Sources in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) here said the strike has almost disrupted arrival of potatoes with the number of trucks coming from other states reducing.

Retail and wholesale prices of potatoes have gone up by over 40% in the last couple of days.

The wholesale grain market is also facing a shortage of pulses such as mung, tur and chana as the strike had disrupted supply from Jalgaon, Latur, Aurangabad and Mumbai in the state, Rajasthan and Delhi.

APMC-Pune chief administrator Dilip Khaire said arrival of a variety of vegetables has been down by 30-40% since Sunday.

“The number of trucks reaching the state has become almost half. It’s difficult to meet the demand for potatoes and chilli as they come from other states. Around 50 trucks reach Market Yard daily with potatoes. Only 15 came on Monday. Many trucks are stuck midway because of the strike,” he told TOI.

Dhaval Shah, director of Jairaj Group dealing in food commodities in western India, said, “Many transporters are not carrying commodities fearing losses. This has created a shortage of grains. The wholesalers are failing to meet the demand of the retail shops. Pulses such as tur, chana and urad dal are procured daily.”

Subodh Zende, a vegetable wholesaler in Market Yard, said supply of fruits such as plums and pears and vegetables like peas, potatoes and garlic has taken a hit because of the strike. “Around 1,000 tonnes of potatoes reach Market Yard from Agra daily. At present, the supply is negligible. The market has to manage with 300-400 tonnes of locally produced potatoes daily during the strike period.”

Sunil Kumbharkar, who owns a vegetable wholesale firm in Market Yard, said. “The supply of potatoes from other states has dropped by over 50% in the last couple of days. As a result, the wholesale prices have gone up by 20-30%.”

Arjun Patil, in charge of the purchase department at a retail shop in Bibvewadi, said that the prices of potatoes have gone up from Rs14 a kg a couple of days ago to Rs22 a kg.