Carrot price nosedives, leaves hill crop farmers distressed

Carrot price has nosedived in the Mettupalayam vegetable market in Coimbatore, due to glut in production in the Nilgiris district.

Good quality carrot, according to wholesale dealers, command prices ranging from ₹25 to ₹35 per kilogram. At the R.S. Puram Uzhavar Sandhai, carrot was priced between ₹36 and ₹40 per kg.

Farmers say they are unable to cover even the costs since their carrot produce is procured by wholesalers for less than ₹10 per kg, from the farms.

Many farmers who take the produce directly to the commission agents in the Mettupalayam vegetable market are apparently exercising the option of leaving the field unharvested.

“Having invested double the amount for cultivation over a four-month duration towards the cost of seed, fertilizers, manure, labour and watering, we exercise the option since the returns would never match the expenditure incurred towards harvesting, washing, transport, and loading/unloading,” said Devaki who has let the carrot unharvested in her village in the Nilgiris’.

In normal years, carrot ensures substantial returns since excessive rainfall inundates low-lying portions of the cultivated area and the limited produce spurs the demand. However, during the current cycle, the shortage of rainfall had resulted in substantial production in the entire cultivated area, according to Rishi, a commission agent.

Carrot has to reach the consumers within two days for its characteristics to remain intact.

The farming community has not yet explored the eco-system of value-addition of carrot, in consonance with the production volume, said Ramesh, a vegetable trader in Mettupalayam.

Carrot by-products such as syrup, powder, and chips, according to trade sources, are being traded in very limited quantities by a handful of exporters in Tiruppur and Erode districts.