Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Vegetables fluctuating, fruits on the rise on price front

Price of vegetables has fluctuated in the local market over a period of one week while price of fruits is increasing. Price of seasonal vegetables has increased by Rs 2 to Rs 10 per kg.

Price of the vegetables such as small tomato, big tomato, carrot, cauliflower local, French bean, asparagus, pointed gourd and onion green has increased in the market by Rs 2 to Rs 10 per kg whereas price of some seasonal vegetables such as chilli green, brinjal long, mushroom, soyabean green and sword bean has dropped by Rs 2 to 15 Rs per kg compared to last week.

The price of onion is reported to have increased in Nepali market due to the lack of proper supply from India.

According to Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board (KFVMDB), the price of most of the vegetables has increased because of inadequate storage facility during monsoon.

“Decline in supplies of major vegetables has led to the increase in prices. In normal season provided that the supply situation is smooth, around 500 metric tons of vegetables enters the valley daily from neighboring districts,” said Binaya Shrestha, senior planning officer at KFVMDB. But with the arrival of monsoon, only around 300 to 350 metric tons of vegetables on average is entering the valley daily.

Shrestha said the upcoming Teej festival is also one of the reasons behind the increase in the price of vegetables like pointed gourd and cauliflower local as they are favorites during the festival season. However, the price of brinjal round, red cabbage, mustard leaf, spinach leaf and squash has remained constant over the period.

The major price rise has been seen in cow peas, pointed gourds and sword beans, which shot up by Rs 10 per kg on average.

“As the production of all these vegetables has declined locally and internationally, price of some of these vegetables has been continuously increasing,” said Shrestha.

He further added that compared to last week, price of vegetables has increased by almost 30 percent and it will continue to rise further as the supply is low while demand is high.

Price of fruits has been continuously increasing in the market as Nepal has to depend on India and China to meet the demand of fruits in the local market.

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