APMC vegetable prices plummet

Mumbai: In last two months, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, (APMC), in Vashi has found few takers for its vegetables and prices have come down as compared to last year. Also, due to demonetisation there were fewer takers for the goods in December 2016.

The vegetables received by the APMC in November and December 2015 and 2016 are almost the same. However, the prices of vegetables like lemon, ginger, beet, gourd, flour, tomato, peas, broad beans, amaranth leaves  and (chawli) etc have reduced drastically.

“Usually, during the last two months of the year, vegetable production is better as compared to rest of the year. The rainfall received last year was sufficient and helped increase the production. The prices dipped due to the abundant produce. But the slump in the prices was also due to demonetisation. The people then had no immediate cash to give and hence the price of certain vegetables dropped,” an official from the APMC said on condition of anonymity.

The issue of dip in the prices at APMC was raised in the marketing department’s meeting held in Mantralaya last week. An official from the marketing department said that overall there was 33 per cent decrease in APMC buyers. “It was an early trend in November and December that indicated less buyers. However, now that people are getting their old currency replaced, the prices will improve and the APMC will have more buyers,” the official said.