Asia’s largest wholesale market- Azadpur Mandi in the national capital of our country, has started selling tomatoes at a rate of ₹1 per kg.
The traders and agents of the mandi reported demand has declined to a large extent because of a limited number of retailers. Vijay Ahuja, auditor of Okhla Mandi stated that prices of other green vegetables have also dropped and are being sold at a quarter to one rate.
‘Ghiya or Bottle gourd’ price has been increased from two to three rupees per kg while ‘turai or ridge gourd’ is being sold at ₹6 per kg. The rate of onions has been reduced by one and a half this month. The foremost reason for the sharp decline is the migration of millions of people from Delhi because of the nationwide lockdown.
Rajendra Sharma, a businessman at Azadpur Mandi and president of Indian Merchant Association claimed that prices of the vegetables including tomatoes have fallen due to its low demand in the marketplace. The restaurants and dhabas contribute a lot in their consumption.
But since everything is closed right now, the requirements have diminished. Also, since social distancing protocol has been implemented in the sabzi Mandi and buyers need to wait for longer to get tokens to go inside the market, they are avoiding it.
According to the rate of Azadpur Mandi APMC, where the wholesale price of tomato was Rs 6-15.25 per kg on May 1, the cost is Rs 0.75-5.25 per kg for the last three days. Similarly, where the wholesale price of onion was Rs 4.50-11.25 per kg on May 1, it was Rs 2.50-8.50 per kg on Saturday.
However, the vendors selling vegetables in different neighbourhoods of Delhi have not reduced their prices. They are selling tomatoes at ₹15-20 per kg and are having the same rates for other vegetables also. They said that the items they bring from the mandi get spoiled and the transportation cost is also high at this time. So, they are bound to sell at a higher rate than the sabzi Mandi.
