Money
Vegetable prices soar by up to 66pc in Ktm
Prices of vegetables have started going up in the Kathmandu Valley due to decline in supply following the advent of monsoon and paddy plantation season.Prices of vegetables have started going up in the Kathmandu Valley due to decline in supply following the advent of monsoon and paddy plantation season.
Prices of vegetables, such as carrots, green onions, tomatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages, have gone up by up to 66 percent in the last one month.
Cauliflowers, which used to cost Rs48 per kg a month ago, now costs Rs75, while cabbage, which was being sold for Rs13 per kg a month ago, now comes with a price tag of Rs19 per kg.
Price of green onion, on the other hand, has soared by 66 percent to Rs63 per kg in the last one month, while price of potato has jumped 19 percent to Rs25 per kg. Similarly, green coriander now costs Rs115, up 53 percent than a month ago; and carrots cost 63 percent more (Rs78) than a month ago.
While green leaves have also become expensive in the market, prices of vegetables, such as bitter gourd, pointed gourd, snake gourd and smooth gourd, have fallen.
Prices of most of the vegetables are going up in the Kathmandu Valley due to downfall in supply.
The country’s largest vegetable wholesale market at Kalimati receives an average of around 700 tonnes of vegetables per day. This number has now gone down to 600 tonnes per day, according to the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board (KFVMDB).
“This short supply has raised prices of vegetables,” KFVMDB Planning Officer Ramesh Dangol said.
Prices of vegetables generally go up with the onset of monsoon, which officially began on June 12. “We expect vegetable prices to go up further in the coming days,” said Dangol
With the start of the monsoon season, farmers have also started planting paddy, one of main cereal crops grown in the country.
“Since many farmers are preparing to plant rice, they have not been able to transport vegetables to the market, which is creating a short supply. This is also raising prices,” said Dangol.
Paddy plantation season in the country begins in June and continues till mid-August. “Since most of the farmers will be busy planting paddy during this period, vegetable prices will further go up,” said Keshab Acharya, a wholesaler at Kalimati vegetable market, adding, “Prices may continue to go up till October, when Dashain and Tihar festivals end.”
The Kathmandu Valley receives most its vegetable supply from Kavrepalanchok, Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot, Dhading, Makwanpur and as far as India.