Vegetable prices down

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The wholesale prices of low country vegetables at the Dambulla Economic Centre have dropped by 30 percent compared to the prices last week, Co-operatives and Internal Trade Ministry sources told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

According to the sources the wholesale prices of low country grown vegetables such as cucumber, Kekiri, dambala, snake-gourds, bitter-gourds, pumpkin and capsicum at Dambulla Economic Centre have come down by 30 percent.

At present the harvest of low country vegetables is coming to the market.

Therefore both retail and wholesale prices of these low country vegetables will further come down within the next two weeks, they said.

Meanwhile nearly 500,000 Kgs of vegetables are brought to the Dambulla Economic Centre from Jaffna daily. This includes a large amount of red onions, big onions, potatoes, beet-root and green chilies, the sources said.

This has also led to a decrease in the prices of some vegetables.

As a result the wholesale price of a kilo of red onion which was sold at Rs.400 earlier has come down to Rs.85. The wholesale price of a Kilo of big onion which was sold at Rs.220 has dropped to Rs.45, they said.

The re-cultivation of vegetables in certain upcountry areas which was seriously affected by rains has also been commenced.

Therefore the prices of all vegetables in the market will come down within the next few weeks, they said.