Vendors working on a loss due to flooding from wet weather
Vendors at the Lautoka Municipal Market have been working on a loss over the past few days.
This is due to the ongoing heavy downpour of rain that has caused flooding in the majority of the areas in the Western Division.
For longtime market vendor, 61-year-old Virendra Singh, there were no vegetables available for him to sell at his stall on Friday. Mr Singh who has been a market vendor for about 20 years now was only left to sell three bundles of Chinese cabbage that was leftover from Thursday.
He usually buys bhaji, Chinese cabbage and chilies from a farmer residing at Navula, Lautoka. “Today (Friday) he (the farmer) didn’t have any vegetables for me to sell because of the flood,” Mr Singh said.
“It has been slack in the market for one week and we haven’t been making any profit; we are working on a loss.”
He said he was not sure of how business would run today. Alongside this, he also pays $21.60 every week for his stall fees. Another vendor, Premila Devi, 54, has also had to fork out money to purchase groceries at her home because she was not making a profit. Ms Devi has been a vendor for 18 years. She said the prices of certain vegetables had increased due to the heavy rain.
She purchases vegetables from a farmer in Sigatoka.
“Before I would buy a box of pawpaw for $30 and now because of the flood I am buying it for $40 and we are now selling a heap at $5 each,” Ms Devi said.
“Because round cabbage is not in season, e are buying a crate of it for $70. There are no cucumbers coming in.”
She said business had been slow and there had also been a drop in the number of customers.
Ms Devi pays $72 weekly for her stall fees.
“Hopefully the weather eases so things normalise,” she said.