Veggies scarce over fasting period

THE demand for vegetables is at an all time high as Hindus from the Tamil and Telugu linguistic groups begin fasting for Purattasi today (Wednesday), and the Hindi-speaking community continues to observe Pitra Paksha.

Due to climate change and erratic weather conditions, certain vegetables have become scarce leading to price increases.

Stores, however, continue to be a hive of activity, with patrons queuing to get the best and freshest stock.

Verulam farmer Mana Naidoo said Durban was currently facing a severe drought and the uncertainty of the weather was not ideal for vegetable growth.

“We are almost three weeks into spring, but some days it is extremely cold, other days are too hot and windy. These irregular weather patterns and lack of rain are causing crops to wither away.

“Herbs, known has baji, and green beans are just a few of the vegetables that remain scarce.

“The rain has also affected the growth of tomatoes, and many farmers have resorted to purchasing from neighbouring areas,” said Naidoo.

He added farmers were purchasing produce from Pongolo, Nelspruit and even Swaziland, to supply stores.

Another farmer, Kishore Hurribhujan, who owns farms in Canelands and New Glasgow, shared a similar view.

“There is a shortage of the popular Indian vegetables like double beans and herbs. This can all be attributed to climate change.

“Farmers are not marking up their prices, but it is stores which are trying to make up for any loss,” he said.

The manager of Oxford Freshmarket, Don Govender, said herbs, greens and gadhra beans were in short supply and customers were cleaning out the shelves.

“The prices of our soya products have remained the same and customers are purchasing in bulk.”

The owner of Sunrise Fruit and Vegetables, Krish Birjanund, said the drought had affected the quality of vegetables.

“Normally around September farmers will be bringing in fresh green vegetables, but the lack of rain has caused these vegetables to shrivel up.

“This, however, has not stopped customers from purchasing, and sales have increased.”

Birjanund added that prices of vegetables such as karela, herbs and beans had increased by a few rands.

“Soya products, especially the prawns and chicken, have become popular and we are selling out. The prices of these items increase and decrease throughout the year and not only during fasting.”

Kay Pillay, who purchased her vegetables for the fasting at Bangladesh Market in Chatsworth, said she paid as much as R30 a kilogram for some of her vegetables.

“I could not find herbs and attributed this to our weather conditions. Green beans was very expensive, costing me R32 a kg compared to last year’s price of R25 a kg.

“Most of the vegetables were quite dry.”