Fewer takers and sharp rain spell dampens festival sale at Koyambedu vegetable market

Festival sales at Koyambedu market dip due to rain, reduced footfall, but hope to sell stock before closure.

Fewer customers and a sharp rain spell on Wednesday dampened festival sales at the Koyambedu wholesale vegetable market complex.

With a decline in footfall since Tuesday night, wholesale merchants said the vegetable sales dipped by 25%. Many retailers had travelled out of the city for the festival.

However, despite the reduced footfall, about 510 lorries carrying vegetables arrived at the market as against the usual 470 lorries per day.

With the market set to be shut for a day from Thursday evening, in view of the Deepavali festival, merchants hope to sell their stock.

The cost of most of the vegetables hovered around ₹40 a kg to ₹50 a kg in the wholesale market, partly owing to the festive demand. Several people, however, thronged the flower market for a last-minute purchase ahead of the festival.

P. Sukumar, treasurer, Koyambedu Vegetable, Fruit and Flower Market Merchants Association, said beans and broad beans were among the costly vegetables with the wholesale price ranging from ₹80 a kg to ₹100 a kg, and ₹70 a kg respectively. One kg of green peas was being sold for ₹200.

The prices of staples, including onions and tomatoes, have stabilised over the past few days. “More trucks carrying tomatoes and potatoes from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh arrived on Wednesday. Arrivals will reduce by Thursday morning,” he said.