Vegetable Prices Soar: Middlemen’s Writ Runs In Market

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The current wave of floods in the State has damaged around 50,000 bighas of vegetable fields – leaving farmers and consumers high and dry. The impact of the situation has aggravated in the total absence of anyone from the administration to bring the situation back on track in the vegetable market. In such a situation, only the brokers go away with the maximum profits, depriving both growers and consumers.

Vegetable prices have skyrocketed with each and every item being sold at Rs 20-30 per kg more than its usual price till a few weeks back. Of course, the prices of onion and potato have not seen much hike. This is because they are controlled by the Food and Civil Supplies Department. In case of rest of the vegetable items, there is none to control – neither from the Food and Civil Supplies Department nor from the Assam Agricultural Marketing Board nor the Department of Agriculture. Thus, the agriculture market is essentially a haven where only the writ of middlemen runs. Vegetables like carrot, gourd, ridge gourd, brinjal, lady’s finger, tomato, etc have been left to rot in the fields. All these being high perishable ones, there is little scope to save them from flood water.

Vegetable growers are the worst affected ones in lower Assam where vegetables are mostly grown in the State. The prices of items like cabbage, tomato, radish etc that come from Meghalaya skyrocket as soon as they arrive in Assam.

In Guwahati ridge gourd (jika) is sold at Rs 60 a kg against its usual price of Rs 30 a kg, lady’s finger at Rs 60/70 a kg against its usual Rs 40 a kg, carrot at Rs 100 a kg against Rs 60 a kg, brinjal at Rs 60/70 a kg against Rs 40 a kg, tomato at Rs 100 a kg against Rs 60/70 a kg.

The irony remains that this hike in prices is not going to benefit the growers as the middlemen who have their direct hold over the market go with the profit.

When contacted, sources in the State Food and Civil Supplies Department said that they are keeping a close watch on essential commodities like rice, sugar, pulses (dal) etc the prices of which are well under control. “We’ve asked all traders to refrain from hoarding to create any artificial shortage of any commodity,” a source in the department said, and added: “The vegetable market, on the other hand, is not in our control. However, if the deputy commissioners want, they can go the extra mile to assess the market prices and can have a control over them.”

Another source in the Agricultural Marketing Board said: “Our hold is on production of agricultural products and their marketing. However, we don’t have any hold over prices in the market that solely depends on demand and supply.”

Badly battered ones in such a situation are vegetable growers, many of whom take bank loans for growing vegetables. These people suffer much loss when there are floods, but the compensation they get is quite meagre – Rs 6,800-13,500 per hectare of land. According to sources, a vegetable grower can earn much more than this compensation amount if he can harvest his orchard without being damaged by floods. This is not all. It is not certain as to when a farmer will get the compensation for his loss of vegetable. It is a long-drawn-out process. A government team assesses the loss and sends the report to the deputy commissioner concerned. On his/her part, the deputy commissioner sends the report to the government for making the payment.

Also Read: Vegetables prices soaring high, common buyers badly hit in flood ridden Assam