Bhubaneswar: Amid fears of a spike in vegetable prices due to the ongoing fuel crisis, city retailers witnessed a surprising drop in wholesale rates at one of the state's largest vegetable markets in Unit-1 on Saturday. However, the benefit did not reach end consumers as retail prices remained unchanged.
Wholesale Prices Plummet
At the wholesale market, carrots and beetroots were sold at Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kilogram, down from Rs 25 to Rs 27 per kilogram on Friday. Papaya was priced at Rs 10 per kilogram, cucumber at Rs 15 per kilogram, a sharp decline from Rs 42 per kilogram the previous day. Ridge gourd, which was Rs 35 per kilogram a day ago, along with ivy gourd, lady's finger (Rs 30 per kilogram), and pointed gourd, were sold between Rs 15 and Rs 20 per kilogram on Saturday.
Supply Chain Disruption
The disruption in fuel supply severely affected transportation, forcing wholesalers to sell perishable vegetables at nearly half their usual prices, incurring heavy losses. Traders at Unit-1 reported that retailers and wholesalers from different parts of the state failed to arrive at the market to lift stocks, as many transporters either ran out of fuel or remained stranded in long queues outside petrol pumps.
Odisha's vegetable needs are largely met from other states, including West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. After arriving at Unit-1 market, vegetables are transferred to retail markets in districts like Cuttack, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, and Dhenkanal. However, business remained unusually dull on Saturday morning, with very few pickup vans and traders turning up.
Wholesalers Forced to Sell at Loss
With no option left, wholesalers disposed of raw vegetables at throwaway prices to avoid spoilage. Kabiraj Swain, president of the Vegetable Traders' Association, highlighted the severity of the situation. "On an average, 50 to 60 trucks, each carrying 25 tonnes of vegetables, reach the market from different states every morning. At least 200 mid-sized vehicles, including pickup vans, arrive every morning to transport vegetables to different parts of the state. That did not happen today because transporters either had no fuel or were waiting in queues at fuel stations," he said.
Swain added that since vegetables cannot be stored for long during summer, traders had no option but to sell them at half the market price. "The wholesalers are among the worst affected," he said.
Potential for Further Losses
Traders fear losses could deepen further if the fuel situation does not normalize soon, as supply chain disruptions may continue to affect transportation and procurement.
Contrast in Cuttack
Meanwhile, traders at Cuttack's biggest vegetable market, Chhatra Bazaar, said the panic buying of fuel over the last three days has not yet affected the vegetable business. "Instead, in Cuttack's Malgodown, we witnessed panic buying of cooking oil in the last three days, but today the prices of all varieties of cooking oil came down, which means losses for those who resorted to hoarding," said Prafulla Chatoi, general secretary of the Cuttack Chamber of Commerce.
