NEW DELHI: Tomato and other vegetables prices, including those of onion and potato, have come down after demonetisation. But the National Horticulture Board, which tracks horticultural produce markets across the country , has found that the fall has more to do with transporters’ resistance to pick up the produce from farms than to a poor cash flow at the farmers’ end.
Ground reports, shared with the board, have noted a pattern where middlemen have been trying to misuse the situation, creating logistical problems, making lifting of produce difficult. This year, because of a bumper crop, the apparent non-cooperation of transporters hasn’t yet affected retail vegetable rates as much. While some of the output is perforce being left to rot in the fields, much of it is still making its way to the retail markets, preventing an even steeper fall. The transporter problem, ground reports indicate, is particularly visible in some states such as Karnataka. This state had a bumper tomato crop this year.
Though middlemen try to play with the market sentiment after demonetisation, the December, post-harvest fall in prices in one or the other region isn’t unusual. Ground reports with the board noted that the transporters’ resistance in certain regions needs to be probed.
Comparative wholesale price figures of November 9 and December 27 from six major markets show that the fall pattern isn’t uniform for all regions. Onion rates have actually risen in Chennai, Kolkata and Nashik.
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