THE GOAN NETWORK
BELAGAVI
Garlic prices are expected to drop in Goa and Belagavi, thanks to bountiful rains and increased cultivation of garlic in parts of the North Karnataka region, which has resulted in a high yield and high supply.
The majority of the garlic to Goa goes via the Belagavi APMC market.
The indispensable edible bulb, dominant in the kitchen, had witnessed a steep price rise of around Rs 400 per kg.
However, higher cultivation in the region, as farmers turned to garlic cultivation anticipating high returns, has led to a crash in prices.
Farmers are, however, in distress both mentally and financially due to the sharp price drop.
“Last season, garlic had reached a whopping Rs 35,000 per quintal, prompting increased cultivation. However, this harvesting season, prices plummeted to Rs 7,000“Rs 8,000 per quintal, affecting the retail price too.
“From Rs 400 a kilo, the retail prices have dropped to around Rs 150 a kilo, which would benefit consumers,” a trader at the Belagavi APMC wholesale market yard said.
According to APMC officials, garlic is cultivated across Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Davangere, Gadag, Dharwad, Chitradurga, and Harihar districts of Karnataka.
“Encouraged by last year's soaring prices, farmers expanded sowing in the last season, resulting in an extremely high yield and a crash in the market,” an official remarked.
Oversupply from increased cultivation, large-scale imports from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, and competition from hybrid varieties from these places have also contributed to the crash in prices, officials said.
Muddeshwar market premises in Nidagundi taluk in Vijayapura district is a mega wholesale garlic trading hub, where about 500“1,000 quintals of garlic are traded every day.
Wholesalers from Belagavi, Bagalkot, Gadag, Hubballi, and Davangere, who are the major suppliers to Goa, purchase garlic in Vijayapura.
A farmer said he had invested Rs 1 lakh to cultivate garlic on about 2 acres of land.
“The farmers sold garlic at Rs 14,000“Rs 18,000 per quintal, but now prices have dropped. Farmers are now struggling to recover even the cultivation cost,” Sambhaji Hongekar, a wholesaler at Belagavi APMC, said.
The situation has worsened so much that farmers are requesting the Karnataka government to announce a support price to help them recover losses.
