Goa: Vegetable prices still high as weather affects supply

PANAJI: With heavy rainfall in Karnataka the supply of vegetables, especially coriander, in Goa has dropped considerably. A bunch of coriander leaves at the Panaji market is currently at Rs 50, more than double the price from around two weeks ago when it sold at Rs 20.
“Heavy rainfall destroyed a lot of crops and supply has drastically decreased,” said Mohammed Sadi, a vendor at Panaji.To worsen matters in household and commercial kitchens, even the supply of the evergreen herb is far lower than other vegetables. “The heavy rain has caused all the coriander we had stored to get moist and spoilt,” said Ali, another vendor from the capital’s municipal market.
Meanwhile, high prices continued for other popular vegetables; onions at Rs 60 and tomatoes at Rs 50 a kilo. Many consumers have turned to the government’s horticulture department outlets for their daily requirement, but the insufficient supply offers very little respite. Prices at the horticulture outlets are subsidised, with coriander at Rs 38 per bunch, onions at Rs 47 per kg and tomatoes at Rs 34 per kg.
Onion prices had risen to Rs 70-80 per kg this week with traders expecting rates to touch Rs 100 per kg. “I run a catering business and have to buy onions and coriander regularly. But I can’t change my prices (of food) as drastically as the prices of raw materials. I have to bear the loss,” said Christopher Dawson, a city businessman.
At the Ponda market, coriander was priced much lower at Rs 20 a bunch, even this reflects a hike from the earlier price of Rs 10 a bunch. But the Rs 20 paid for a bunch is a smaller quantity.