As farmers’ strike continues to intensify in Maharashtra, it has begun to hit the everyday lives. Due to the strike, which started on June 1, vegetable prices are on a rise in Ahmedabad. As per reports, some vegetables are costing double their price compared to last week. The traders in the city primarily depend on Maharashtra for procuring vegetables such as capsicum, tomato, coriander, bitter gourd, French beans, green chillies, ginger, cauliflower and cucumber.
However, since the farmers’ strike sprang in the western area, the vegetable markets in Ahmedabad are running short on supplies leading to an expected spike in prices of agricultural produce.
As per exclusive reports by Ahmedabad Mirror, a vegetable vendor in Vastrapur said, “The ongoing farmers’ strike in Maharashtra has heavily dented vegetable supplies in the market. As a result, prices have soared by as much as 50% to 100%.”
Notably, an accounts department official at APMC said, “Vegetables like Capsicum, Coriander, Green Chilies, Tomato and French Beans come from Nasik and its neighbouring regions. But due to the farmers’ strike there, we have not got any supplies either on Saturday or on Monday, leading to the shortage of vegetables in the market.”
Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Jamalpur in Ahmedabad, is the wholesale market for vegetables in the city.
The prices of vegetables and fruits have been on an upward path in other cities, including Mumbai, due to the drastic fall in supplies from key production centres like Nashik and Ahmednagar. Farmers on protest demands include a waiver of farm loans and other concessions like lower power tariff. And Nashik and Ahmednagar have become nerve centres of the protest.
