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Vegetable supply crisis: Shortage and price hikes continue

20 Nov 2021

  • Veggie supply chain affected by fertiliser, weather, and pandemic
  • This is not the time for experiments: Farmers
  • Farmers call for better vegetable storage facilities
  • Govt. blamed by farmers for poor planning and policies 
By Maneesha Dullewe Sri Lanka’s soaring vegetable prices are due to the adverse weather, prevailing pandemic conditions, and the fertiliser crisis, Agriculture Ministry Secretary Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe told The Sunday Morning. The rising food prices come amidst food security concerns as the island’s agricultural sector undergoes a period of low productivity and high-post harvest losses in addition to feeling the effects of a recent slew of natural disasters. Some farmers have predicted a severe vegetable shortage in the coming months. Jayasinghe stated that vegetable produce is limited in the local markets due to disruptions in food supply chains caused by crop damage, which lead to an anticipated supply shortage. “Our storage systems are weak, so when the supplies reduced, the prices saw a subsequent increase, as the demand for vegetables rose. “Since the country has now opened up following the pandemic-induced lockdown, restaurants and other places have commenced work, leading to a renewed demand for vegetables. Moreover, food outlets have reopened, so the supply of vegetables to these places has also increased, resulting in  high-quality vegetable yield being absorbed by such places. This leaves the ordinary public with leftover produce. Considering that the latter portion of vegetable produce has also suffered damage from the rains, it has led to a reduction of harvested produce and a subsequent increase in prices,” he opined. The Secretary noted that lower production of essential vegetables is likely to continue, especially if the fertiliser issue persists, and shared that they would launch an emergency plan to provide fertiliser and replace the damaged produce. He ventured that they anticipated providing a speedy solution, with the assistance of ministry researchers and officials, in order to resolve the crop issues faced by the farming community. The Ministry planned to provide high-quality and environmentally friendly fertiliser that would not cause crop damage, he said. Price fluctuations According to data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Sri Lanka’s vegetable prices have demonstrated significant increases over the past month.  As of 18 October, the wholesale price of a kg of beans in the Manning Market stood at Rs. 225, a kg of carrots at Rs. 80, a kg of cabbage at Rs. 95, and a kg of tomato at Rs. 60. Meanwhile, as of last Thursday (18), the prices of a kg of each vegetable had increased, with a kg of beans being priced at Rs. 350, a kg of carrots at Rs. 200, a kg of cabbage at Rs. 130, and a kg of tomato at Rs. 300. CBSL data attributes the recorded price fluctuations during this period primarily to the limited supplies caused by unfavourable weather conditions. Former Manning Market General Trade Union Chairman Lal Hettige said that vegetables were being sold in the market at excessive prices, to the extent that the public was finding it difficult to bear the cost. “Currently, prices of upcountry vegetables such as leeks, carrots, capsicum, and beans are extremely high. Additionally, fewer quantities of vegetables arrive in the market. For instance, if there used to be five lorries’ worth of produce that arrived from one area previously, now you might only see one lorry’s worth,” Hettige said. He added that the country might witness a shortage of vegetables in the near future. However, he noted that despite government efforts to provide solutions to the present situation of vegetable crop shortages, the Covid-19 pandemic caused complications that weren’t entirely manageable even with state intervention, since even countries more powerful than Sri Lanka were suffering due to the global food supply chain disruptions. All Ceylon Farmers’ Federation National Organiser Namal Karunaratne revealed that shortcomings in Sri Lanka’s food production and consumption pattern have also contributed to the present vegetable shortage. “Vegetables are short-term crops. However, we have no system in place to dehydrate and preserve vegetable produce. Instead, we have a system where we regularly buy (fresh) vegetables from the market and cook and consume. This system needs a continuous production of vegetables. While paddy can be stored long-term, there is no similar system for storing vegetables. This ensures that we need to keep constantly growing vegetables to fulfil the daily vegetable requirements of the people. These conditions are problematic and will lead to vegetable shortages,” he said. Karunaratne added that while the prevailing vegetable shortage led to the produce in the market being sold at higher prices, that  farmers did not reap any benefits from this. “Farmers have to bear a high production cost in this situation. For instance, if the farmer used to be able to sow a crop and obtain a harvest worth 100 kg, their present harvest would only be 50 kg. This is because preparing land for cultivation has also become expensive, along with the purchase of fertiliser. So, while it is true that the farmers are selling vegetables at increased prices, they receive no benefit from this situation and only incur a loss due to the high production costs. On the other hand, the customer is also suffering because they have to pay more to purchase these vegetables,” Karunaratne explained.  Lack of foresight According to Karunaratne, the vegetable shortage can be traced to the Government’s decision to stop importing chemical fertilisers and pesticides earlier this year, in an attempt to transition to organic farming. He pointed out that due to this decision taken by the Government, the State needed to resolve the situation since they were responsible for the poor planning that led to this eventuality. “The President recently said that (the decision to import chemical fertilisers) was the outcome of a careful plan. However, the Government is now saying that organic fertiliser is being washed away due to the rains, so as a solution they will be issuing a certain amount of chemical fertiliser to the farmers. This is contradictory. “If they undertook this measure with a plan, they should have foreseen this eventuality, since the Maha season was coming up. They should have been aware that the upcoming Maha season would have been accompanied by torrential rains, as this naturally occurs every season. How were the people in charge of deploying these plans unaware of this situation which would lead to the fertiliser being washed away? “If they were indeed operating with such a plan, they would have adapted by providing a suitable solution. Instead, their chosen solution is contradictory to their initial decision. How are they suggesting the use of chemical fertiliser now, after they made the decision to transition away from it?” Karunaratne questioned. Expressing that the Government must accept responsibility for the present situation, Karunaratne stressed: “The Government decided to undertake an experiment regarding food at a time when the whole world is facing issues with food production and supply chains due to the pandemic. This decision is a foolhardy one, since ordinarily, under such circumstances, no country would consider embarking on such dangerous experiments. Furthermore, this decision was timed with the start of the Maha season, which is the season which bears the bulk of the country’s food production, at over 65%.” Therefore, Karunaratne warned that price increases will continue as farmers face an inability to supply food to match demand. Responding to such claims, Prof. Jayasinghe, while acknowledging said difficulties surrounding fertiliser, ventured to say that although the organic fertiliser concept was sound, the complications had risen due to it not being available in sufficient quantities. He said that the agrarian insurance divisions were inspecting the extent of the damages inflicted upon the cultivations as a result of the recent adversities. Additionally, he shared that the Agrarian Services Department and the agrarian insurance divisions were compiling the necessary data, and that provisions were being made to supply fertiliser to the affected cultivations, with various plans and solutions already underway through the agrarian services centres and the National Fertiliser Secretariat. 
Wholesale Prices: Vegetables in the Manning Market
Photo Item 18-Oct-21 17-Nov-21
Beans 225.00 350.00
Carrot 80.00 200.00
Cabbage 95.00 130.00
Tomato 60.00 300.00
Brinjal 150.00 155.00
Pumpkin 60.00 50.00
Snake gourd 150.00 200.00
Green chilli 150.00 120.00
Source: CBSL
 


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