Impact of Covid-19: Dipping vegetable prices dragging farmers down

Vegetable growers in Lalmonirhat are watching the effects of Covid-19 with alarm as prices of produce continue to fall at local markets. 

With most of the vegetables and leafy greens reaching harvest time already and a shrinking number of buyers at kitchen markets amid ongoing nationwide shutdown, the growers have no other way but to harvest and sell the produce at prices below the cost of production. 

Bitter gourd is now selling for Tk 8 to Tk 10 per kilogram. But just about three weeks back, it was selling for Tk 25 to Tk 30 a kg. Spinach is now being sold for Tk 10 to Tk 12, as opposed to Tk 25 to Tk 35 two weeks back.

Most other freshly harvested vegetables -- potato, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant and pumpkin -- are now selling at nearly one-third of the price that the items would draw three weeks ago at the markets, the farmers said.   

"Vegetable prices have fallen so drastically that they are being sold below the cost of production. I do not like to sell the produce at such low prices, but if I don't sell those after harvest, they would go bad," said farmer Suja Ali from Chawratari village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.

"The spread of the pandemic is the reason behind our loss. But only about three weeks ago, I was making quite an unexpected profit from the sale of cabbage and cauliflower," he added.    

Nur Islam, another vegetable grower from the same village, said he was also seeing profit from sale of spinach just a couple of weeks ago. But now, amid shutdown across the country due to the virus, he is being compelled to sell the same at loss.

"Corona has brought misery to our lives. No one knows when things will be back to normal."

Asgar Ali, a resident of College Road area in Lalmonirhat town, said vegetable prices at kitchen markets took a nosedive as most people are trying to avoid crowded places such as kitchen markets in order to maintain social distancing, a measure recommended by experts to contain the spread of the pandemic.  

Vegetable trader Quader Miah, who is based in Aditmari upazila's Kumrihat Kitchen Market, said, the market has plenty of supply of fresh vegetables and leafy greens, but there is hardly any buyer there.

As a result, the vegetable traders are also counting losses for not being able to sell the produce before they spoil.

They used to do good business by sending out locally produced vegetables to Dhaka and surrounding areas, but that source of income had to be suspended due to the spread of the virus, he also said.