Unseasonal rain pushes up price of vegetables at markets in Erode

Cost of tomato, broad beans, beans, turnip, potato, carrot and beetroot have gone up by 20% in the last one week

With unseasonal rains affecting crops, the prices of vegetables have escalated at markets here on Monday.

The prices of tomato, broad beans, beans, turnip, potato, carrot and beetroot have gone up by 20% in the last one week.

At the uzhavar sandhai in Sampath Nagar, tomato was sold at ₹ 68 a kg, broad beans at ₹ 85 a kg, carrot and beetroot at ₹ 44 a kg each, beans at ₹ 90 a kg, turnip at ₹ 55 a kg, potato at ₹ 35 a kg and cauliflower at ₹ 25 a piece. Traders said that due to rain in Talavadi hills and Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka in the last four weeks, tomato crops were affected badly. Also, rain in other production areas has led to a drop in arrival of tomatoes, as prices increased from ₹ 40 to ₹ 70 a kg in four weeks.

Arrival of vegetables to the market at Oddanchatram in Dindigul district was also affected significantly due to continuous rain. In the last two years, farmers faced huge losses as they were unable to market their produce due to COVID-19 pandemic. “Fearing another wave of virus spread, many did not cultivate crops leading to drop in production”, said Kuppusamy, a farmer who is into brinjal cultivation. He said the prices of brinjal, ladies finger, drumstick and gourd varieties continue to remain normal. “The price of tomatoes and beans have skyrocketed and the upward price trend will continue till the rain ends”, he added.

Since the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said tha the onset of southwest monsoon was expected earlier, farmers fear that crop damage would push the prices further. “We depend both on Tamil Nadu and other States for our vegetable needs. Severity of monsoon will decide the price of vegetables in the coming months,” said farmer Manickam of Talavadi.