Mumbai: The onion and potato division of the Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMC) at Vashi was badly hit by due to the ongoing farmer’s strike. The vegetables and fruit division too witnessed a fall in the number of vehicles arriving, traders said.
Officials at the kanda-batata mandi said onions did not arrive at the market on Friday, but potatoes and garlic were being supplied as usual at 62 and 10 trucks respectively. The vegetable market saw around 150 vehicles entering the market, compared to the 514 trucks that arrived on June 1. At the fruit market, only 250 trucks arrived on Friday, while 357 had made it to the APMC on June 1.
Ashok Walunj, a director on the APMC board, said all the onion consumed by Mumbai comes from Nagpur, and the strike has sent onion prices up by 10% to 12%.
Shankar Pingle, former director, APMC vegetable division, “In all, 150 vehicles arrived at the market today. Most were from Gujarat, Karnataka and Delhi; only 10 trucks were from the districts. Rates have gone up by 30% on average.”
Meanwhile, officials at the APMC’s fruit division said prices had not changed due to the strike, despite fewer trucks coming in. “We generally receive 350 to 400 trucks of fruits every day. However, only 250 trucks came in on Friday, all from other states,” said Sanjay Pansare, trader and ex-director, APMC.
