Dip in sales: 250 tonnes of vegetables go to waste at Koyambedu market daily

P Sukumaran, treasurer, Koyambedu Vegetable Merchants’ Association, said the market receives a very limited supply of vegetables in May and the prices usually double during this time. “We get only 450 trucks of vegetables now. The majority of the buyers at the market used to be retail traders but their number has reduced in the past week due to the lockdown. The few retail vendors who come to the market do not buy their usual amount fearing that they might not be able to sell them given the time restrictions,” he said.

“At least 250-300 tonnes of vegetables go to waste every day. Earlier, the bio-gas complex was utilising it to generate electricity but now even that has been stopped. So, we dump the waste in the garbage,” added Sukumaran.

The prices of vegetables have decreased by up to 10 per cent. The traders are worried that the situation might prolong to next month due to the number of COVID cases in the second wave.

“Since last year’s lockdown, the public had started purchasing vegetables online and it is being continued in the second wave also. The retail traders saw a huge loss in their business then and they face the same situation this year too. Anticipating this, the vendors purchase very little.

Currently, onion is sold for Rs 20 per kg, tomatoes for Rs 25, beetroot for Rs 20-25, carrot Rs 30 and potatoes Rs 15,” said P Prabhakaran, a wholesale trader at the Koyambedu market.

However, the market association has banned the entry of auto-rickshaws and cars to keep the public at bay. They have limited the number of traders from other districts, too.