Your veggies to become cheaper

APMC lifts restrictions on entry of vegetables trucks, traders expect vegetable prices to drop in few days

After two and a half months, the ag riculture produce market committee (APMC) in Vashi has l i f t ed restrictions on the entry of the number of trucks laden with ve getables. For the last two days, more than 400 trucks with ve getables ar rived at the wholesale market. Traders at the wholesale market say that the price of g reen ve getables will come down in the retail market in a couple of days. On August 18, the wholesale market saw the ar rival of 54 trucks and 374 tempos laden with ve getables.

Shankar Pingle, director of APMC’s Ve getable market said that ve getable prices will now be under control as the arrival of tr ucks has i ncreased. “The token system to enter in the wholesale market has been lifted. Now there is no restriction on the number of ve getable trucks to enter the market,” said Pingle.

Many traders were unable to car ry out business as usual as fewer tr ucks plied during the pandemic lockdown. This was affecting the overall business at the wholesale market. “The decision has been taken kee ping the price rise of ve getables in retail and the demand from the traders to i ncrease the supply,” Pingle said.

On May 26, the APMC administration had capped the entry of ve getables up to 300 vehicles including trucks and tempos. It was decided after a spike in corona positive cases in the wholesale market. The market was also closed for a week from May 11 to May 17 after 200 positive cases were re por ted in it. Since the market supplies essent i als to the Mumbai Metropolitan Re gion, it was reopened with restrictions. The civic body disinfected the entire market and tested traders.

Prices of ve getables have skyrocketed in the wholesale and retail market. Most of the ve getables are being sold at Rs 60 per kg in the retail market. In f act, some of the ve getables are not even ar riving in the market.