The price of green chilli in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has soared to an unprecedented Rs 1,150 a kilo. However, there is more bad news for consumers as agri officers predict a 50 per cent drop in vegetable production in general, meaning that as supply contracts, prices of other popular vegetables such as beans, leek, carrot, beetroot, and cabbage will most certainly rise further.
Large-scale vendors cite adverse weather and natural disasters being contributory factors in low supply. Farmers are also incurring losses as a result of low yields, and high input costs such as seed and labour costs. Chilli growers in particular tussle with pests and diseases such as leaf curl and root rot. Besides, thousands of small-scale farmers are deep in debt across the country.
To try to mitigate the effects of a confluence of adverse factors, the Department of Agriculture is distributing pots of green chilli to farmers to grow in the off-season, rainy months of July and December, instructor S.A Kalana said.
Manning Market welfare society Secretary Gamini Handunge, said consumers are buying less. “Nobody purchases more than 500 grams per item. This is because most vegetables are now over Rs 100 per kilogram, and people cannot afford it.”
At the Manning Market in the Pettah, where wholesale and retail trading of vegetables takes place, prices have rocketed higher this week. Vendors say supply from the highlands has dropped by about 40 per cent the past week.
News site sundaytimes.ik's Dambulla correspondent reports that carrots are fetching Rs. 250-290 a kilo, beetroot is Rs. 210-290 per kilo, beans Rs. 300 per kilo, Rs. 230-240; butter beans, Rs. 270-280 and long beans Rs. 212-240. Lime Rs. 645, tomato Rs. 200, drumstick Rs.600-plus, luffa Rs. 166, and capsicum Rs. 350.
The prices of pumpkin, kekiri, cucumber and snake gourd remain low. At economic centres, pumpkin and kekiri are sold at Rs. 60-65 a kilo and cucumber at Rs. 70-80. Snake gourd is Rs. 90-100. Ridged gourd (vetakolu) is sold in supermarkets at about Rs. 170. Bitter gourd is selling at Rs.190-200.
The Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute says that compared with last year, the price of beans has increased by 40 per cent, carrot by 47 per cent and cabbage by 62 per cent.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)
Source: sundaytimes.lk
