Reduction in the area of cultivation coupled with severe dry spell has led to drastic fall in vegetable yield in the district. Consequently, their price has gone up.
Gandhi Ganj, a major vegetable market where 120-140 licenced vendors sell vegetables, has been wearing a deserted look with customers avoiding buying vegetables. “Compared to the last year, the prices of some of the vegetables have doubled affecting our business,” said Warangal Venkanna, a retail vendor.
The prices have skyrocketed even in the local market at Ankapur where vegetables are grown abundantly and supplied to other markets. “One kilogram of locally-grown tomato costs ₹50 and you can imagine how much it would cost elsewhere,” said Bojanna, a farmer at Ankapur.
Green chilli is sold at ₹80 per kg, brinjal at ₹40 per kg, ridge gourd - ₹60-₹80, ladies finger - ₹60, little finger ₹50, and bitter gourd at ₹60 per kg. The price of leafy vegetables has increased too.
On normal days, two trucks loaded with green chilli used to come to the market every day from Nagpur, which has now reduced to only one truck. Also, vegetables in about four trucks from Maharashtra and Hyderabad used to arrive here, which has gone down to only two now.
“Carrots, which were sold earlier at ₹30 per kg, cost ₹50 now. Wholesale traders are no longer auctioning vegetables which the retailers used to buy, and are later selling them at whatever price they deem fit,” said Venkanna, a vendor.
The sowing area of vegetables in summer goes down by 70% due to water scarcity. As against the normal sowing area of 3,000 acres in the district, vegetables are cultivated in only 1,000 acres leading to abnormal price rise, said S. Narsing Das, District Horticulture Officer.
New crop would only start arriving at the market after 20 to 30 days and till then, the prices of the vegetables would rise, he said.