Floods cripple cropland, vegetable prices go north

Guwahati: The vegetable supply chain to the city has been hit hard by the inundation of large areas of standing crops during the current wave of flood in the state, pushing prices to new highs in the last couple days.
Among the most expensive vegetables currently in the city markets are brinjal, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, long beans and pointed gourds, none costing less than Rs 80 a kilo.

A kilo brinjal which was selling in the retail market at Rs 40 till few days back touched Rs 80 on Sunday. Similarly, a kilo of ridge gourd was being sold at Rs 100 on Sunday, a rise of Rs 40 over Friday’s price.
According to officials, the city vegetable wholesale markets are fed by produce from adjacent Nagaon, Kamrup, and Darrang districts and according to the Assam state Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) over 15 sq km of cropland has been damaged in Nagaon district, over 14 sq km in Kamrup and over seven sq km in Darrang.
Data from the Agricultural Market Intelligence Unit of Assam Agriculture University shows that there was no vegetable supply to the city in the past two days. While the supply continued until Friday, the quantity was significantly lower.
Guwahati has around 13 lakh people and over 600 hotels and restaurants, which are dependent on vegetables sourced from outside the city. The Pamohi wholesale market is the only authorised place by the Assam State Agriculture and Marketing Board (ASAMB), from where most city markets procure vegetables for retail sale. However, some markets in the city get vegetables directly from suppliers.
Mujibar Rahman, a wholesale trader in Bamunimaidam vegetable market – one of the oldest in the city – told TOI that there had been no arrival of vegetables at the wholesale market at Pamohi for the last two days due to the flood-induced scarcity. Road connectivity to Guwahati has also been compromised, further affecting the supply network.
A survey of a few vegetable markets in the city by TOI revealed that no vegetable was being sold below Rs 80 per kg on Sunday.
An official from the marketing board, requesting anonymity, said this price surge typically occurs for a brief period of time each year during the monsoon and stabilises with the improvement of flood conditions. The official added that while market disruptions during the flood season are unavoidable, traders should not take advantage of the situation and avoid excessive price hikes.