Traders at the Barishal Multipurpose City Market are in trouble over three vegetables in Barishal's wholesale market.

This emerged from visits to various wholesale stores at the Multipurpose City Market, known as Barishal's wholesale market, on Saturday morning (11 February).

While prices of other vegetables are normal, prices of cauliflower, cabbage and turnip have fallen. As recently as 8 to 10 days ago the three were selling at Tk 10 to 15 a kg in the wholesale market. On Saturday cauliflower sold at Tk 4, cabbage at Tk 2 and turnip at Tk 4 a kg, yet buyers could not be found. Supply is ample, but with the season drawing to a close buyers are showing no interest in these three vegetables.

Traders said other vegetables are selling, but cauliflower, cabbage and turnip are sitting in sacks in the stores. With the season over, demand for them is low.

Amin Shuvo, owner of Dulal Banijyaloy at the Multipurpose City Market, told Jago News that for several days no one has been buying cauliflower, cabbage or turnip. "We are suffering with these vegetables. I can't sell these three, so I have been making losses for several days."

Babul Hossain Hawlader, owner of Babul Banijyaloy, another trader at the City Market, said there have been no sales of cauliflower, cabbage or turnip for a week. "It has got to the point where we can't even cover the truck fare."

In the retail market, however, the three vegetables are selling at quite good prices. At Bangla Bazar in the city, a cauliflower weighing two to three kg was selling for Tk 20 to 25. A cabbage of two to three kg was selling for Tk 12 to 15 and turnips for Tk 10 to 12.

Touhidul Islam, a retail vegetable seller in the Bangla Bazar area, told Jago News: "After buying vegetables in the wholesale market we have to pay for transport and labour to bring them here. Then we have to pay separately for a place in the market and for lighting. Often, when vegetables spoil, we take the loss. So there is no point comparing retail with wholesale."

He added that the winter vegetable season is almost over, so demand for cauliflower, cabbage and turnip has fallen. Sellers therefore keep only a token amount of the three, and even most of that goes unsold.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.