Veggies packed off to Pak, Delhiites pay a bomb
7 Jan 2015 7:04 AM IST
No wonder vegetables in the wholesale markets of Delhi are selling at double the price they sold last year. Traders, however, accept that the supply of vegetables this time was of the usual amount but claim that exports to the neighbouring country is the reason for skyrocketing of prices.
Notably, last year wholesale rate of a kg of tomato was about Rs. 10 which has crossed Rs. 25 this time.
The Millennium Post found that middlemen and traders of Azadpur Agricultural Produce Market are not missing any opportunity to rake the moolah by exporting vegetables, inspite of bitter relations with Pakistan. It also became known that during the past fortnight, an average of 10 trucks of tomatoes and five trucks carrying ginger, bottle gourd, peas and other items went to Pakistan through the Wagah border.
“We load nine to 16 tonnes of vegetables in a truck, with an average of 12 tonnes per truck. In all, we export nearly 180 tonnes of vegetables daily. Our profit margin has also doubled as wholesale rates is more than double in comparison to last year’s period,” said Bhisham Saini, a tomato trader.
He also said that 40-45 truckloads of tomatoes arrive at the Azadpur mandi to meet the need of the national capital region and Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. But the amount of vegetables supplied to these places has lessened, with this international trade acting as a dampener.
Traders also revealed that apart from the Azadpur mandi, a huge quainty of vegetables are being exported directly from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka this time. “Till last year, the availability and supplies in the city and to Punjab, Himachal were in consonance to the vegetables reaching Delhi markets from Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka but this time thousands of trucks of vegetables are crossing directly across the international border. Though it adds to profits of local traders, it has created a huge gap between demand and supply in the city and has made pricesgo northwards,” said Atar Singh, a trader.
Notably, last year wholesale rate of a kg of tomato was about Rs. 10 which has crossed Rs. 25 this time.
The Millennium Post found that middlemen and traders of Azadpur Agricultural Produce Market are not missing any opportunity to rake the moolah by exporting vegetables, inspite of bitter relations with Pakistan. It also became known that during the past fortnight, an average of 10 trucks of tomatoes and five trucks carrying ginger, bottle gourd, peas and other items went to Pakistan through the Wagah border.
“We load nine to 16 tonnes of vegetables in a truck, with an average of 12 tonnes per truck. In all, we export nearly 180 tonnes of vegetables daily. Our profit margin has also doubled as wholesale rates is more than double in comparison to last year’s period,” said Bhisham Saini, a tomato trader.
He also said that 40-45 truckloads of tomatoes arrive at the Azadpur mandi to meet the need of the national capital region and Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. But the amount of vegetables supplied to these places has lessened, with this international trade acting as a dampener.
Traders also revealed that apart from the Azadpur mandi, a huge quainty of vegetables are being exported directly from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka this time. “Till last year, the availability and supplies in the city and to Punjab, Himachal were in consonance to the vegetables reaching Delhi markets from Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka but this time thousands of trucks of vegetables are crossing directly across the international border. Though it adds to profits of local traders, it has created a huge gap between demand and supply in the city and has made pricesgo northwards,” said Atar Singh, a trader.
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