Veggie prices fall in Ranchi as consumers stay indoors

Ranchi: Vegetable markets in Ranchi are witnessing a slump during the ongoing lockdown as growing Covid cases and administrative curbs keep customers confined to their homes. The prices of potatoes, onions, vegetables and other edibles have fallen over the past week as denizens avoid the marketplaces due to the fear of getting infected.
Vegetable markets in the city were exempted from the lockdown. However, on Wednesday, the state government directed the markets to close at 2pm.
In Lalpur, one of the city’s most crowded markets in normal times, the price of a kilogram of potato has dropped to Rs 18 a kg from Rs 25 before lockdown was initiated on April 22. Onions, which were priced at Rs 30, are now going for Rs 20.
In Hinoo market, sellers have slashed the price of cauliflower to Rs 40 per kg. Likewise, the price of pointed gourd has also been slashed to Rs 40. “Before the lockdown, they were priced at Rs 50 per kg,” Janardan Saw, a greengrocer, said. However, the price of tomatoes, which were at Rs 10 per kilo before lockdown, have risen by Rs 5.
Besides vegetable sellers, chicken sellers have also slashed their prices. Poultry chicken, priced at Rs 150 per kilo, have fallen by Rs 10. Desi chicken is being sold at Rs 450 per kilogram. Even with prices falling, the sellers are not being able to draw buyers. “The consumers are not turning up for chicken even if they venture out to purchase vegetables. They do not want to wait in open as we cull the chicken and dress it,” Kuldeep Verma, a meat seller in Doranda, said.
Many consumers are also asking vegetables to be delivered to their doorstep. “There are a few customers who regularly purchase veggies from me. Since lockdown, they are placing orders over phone and asking them to be delivered at their home,” Rajesh Kumar, a seller from Lalpur market said.