News
Crops rot in rain, sending veggie prices high
Vegetable prices have skyrocketed with the recent adverse weather and further price increases are expected during the festive season if the bad weather continues. Large portions of crops have been damaged by heavy rain and vegetables have rotted. Carrot, beetroot, leeks, cabbage, bitter gourd, ladies’ fingers and pumpkin are vegetables fetching high prices due to the reduced harvests.
Farmers’ organisations said they were unprepared for the deluges and had been increasing cultivation on the basis of the arid conditions that had prevailed earlier. “The farmers, due to the drought conditions, even cultivated vegetables in ground that used to retain water, and now these areas have flooded and as a result the crops have been destroyed,” All-Island Farmers Federation National Organiser, Namal Karunaratne said.
He added that the fast-growing vegetable varieties promoted by the government were weak and easily damaged by adverse weather.
There was some good news. “The farmers are again cultivating now that the rains are clearing, so in 45 days we are expecting vegetable prices to come down,” Mr. Karunaratne said. The reductions would be limited because prices are usually elevated in the Christmas season.
Farmers in Nuwara Eliya said 75 per cent of their crops had been destroyed, leading to high prices for vegetables that could be salvaged after the rains. At the Nuwara Eliya Economic Centre, carrots were being sold for Rs. 200-250 a kilo and the price per kilo of leeks and potatoes was about Rs. 150. In April, carrots fetched about Rs. 85 a kilo and leeks went for Rs. 135.
The head of the Traders’ Association of Nuwara Eliya, Susil Shantha, said farmers had expected to harvest 7,000kg of carrot, but had only realised 2,000kg. Fertiliser and other costs were high and would not be recouped due to the failed harvests. “We are forced to reduce the number of labourers who work in our vegetable farms because of the smaller harvests,” Mr. Shantha said.
Heavy rains have damaged crops
Deserted: Vegetable shops closed at the usually bustling Nuwara Eliya market