Soggy fields dent veggie supply, prices soar across city markets
2
Kolkata: Record rain over the past fortnight devastated vast swathes of agricultural land across south Bengal, leaving thousands of hectares of farmland waterlogged and submerging standing crops.
Farmers faced massive losses as vegetables rotted in flooded fields, triggering a severe supply crunch that sent vegetable prices soaring across retail markets.
From brinjal and bitter gourd to green chilies and capsicum, the prices of essential vegetables rose sharply since late June. According to a comparative market assessment, the price of eggplant (brinjal) shot up from Rs100–Rs120/kg on June 30 to Rs160–Rs170/kg today.
Green chilies, once selling at Rs60–Rs70/kg, are now touching Rs200/kg. Beans, another staple, surged from Rs150 to Rs250/kg, and even capsicum now costs around Rs200/kg, up from Rs100–Rs120 just a month ago.
"The fields are still under water. Whatever little we could harvest is already spoiling because of excess moisture," said Kartik Saha, a vegetable wholesaler at Maniktala Market. "The vegetables we receive from the inundated areas begin to decay within hours.
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Their colour changes overnight. We can't store or reuse yesterday's stock, and that is forcing many of us into distress sales," he added.
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Vendors are now bringing in limited quantities of vegetables, avoiding bulk purchases due to high spoilage rates. As a result, the uptake per stall has drastically fallen, reducing supply at markets even further. Those vegetables that do make it to the shelves are being sold at steep prices to prevent losses from rapid spoilage, said Anil Ghosh, a wholesaler at Behala.
The crisis, however, is only beginning to unfold. Agricultural experts warn that the damage to standing crops is irreversible, and a fresh crop cycle will take weeks to yield produce. The short-term consequence: prices will continue to rise across the board as the demand-supply gap widens further as we become increasingly dependent on the supply from neighbouring states, said a trader.
"The existing crop is gone," said an agriculture officer from Hooghly district, requesting anonymity.
"Even if farmers start replanting now, it will take at least two to three weeks for any harvest to reach markets. Meanwhile, the pressure on supply chains will intensify."
"Vegetable prices are on fire, but the quality is terrible. Most of them rot within a day and are barely usable, putting immense pressure on household budgets," said Anubha Mitra, a school teacher.
With no immediate relief in sight and erratic rainfall continuing to threaten crop health, both consumers and farmers are likely to face a difficult Aug.
While consumers battle soaring prices, farmers are left helpless and unrewarded, their fields waterlogged and their produce unsellable.
As the twin crises of crop loss and food inflation deepen, the situation underscores the urgent need for disaster-resilient agriculture and robust post-harvest infrastructure—gaps that continue to leave Bengal's farmers and markets vulnerable every monsoon.
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