Wholesale price of some of the vegetables has shot up here as cold weather has impacted arrivals from the farms in the district.
Growers of climber vegetables in the district, which are usually grown on about 600 acres, say that the vegetables are grown on less than 10 % of the total area at present because of the weather. The flowers will wither during winter and hence farmers will not grow these crops during these months. Farmers will start sowing for the new crop only in April-May and prices will start reducing by May or June, they said.
This is usually a dull season and the arrivals to Coimbatore markets are largely from other districts, according to the growers.
M. Rajendran, president of Thyagi Kumaram market vegetable growers association, said the wholesale price of the gourd variety of vegetables is more than ₹ 20 a kg. For instance, bitter gourd is ₹35 to ₹40 a kg and snake gourd is ₹25 a kg, he said. Prices of drumstick (₹120 a kg) and okra (₹60 a kg) are also high.
However, prices of tomatoes and big onion have dropped. “There is no cultivation of tomato in the district or in Karnataka at present. Arrivals are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Chattisgarh,” he said. Arrivals from Coimbatore district will start only in April. In the case of big onion too, most of the arrivals are from Maharashtra. The arrivals from Maharashtra will go on till June. Prices of vegetables such as carrots, beans, beetroot, and cabbage have dropped to ₹10 to ₹20 a kg, he said.
