LOUIS RODRIGUES
Goa being a highest consumer market in the region as far as vegetables, onions and potatoes are concerned most of the supplies to retailers and the Horticulture Corporation come from Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) market yard. Until a couple of years ago vegetables were supplied from the wholesale vegetable market near Belagavi fort inside the city, however, since last year, the wholesale vegetable market too has been shifted to the APMC Market Yard which is about 4 kms from the main city market.
The wholesalers, also identified as commission agents are the ones who act as middlemen for the produce between farmers and buyers. According to Sambhaji Hongekar, a wholesaler, this is one of the most effective and trusted ways of transparent dealing. While auctioning of onion and potatoes is done twice a week, ie Wednesday and Saturday, auctioning of vegetables is done on a daily basis. In a fantastic modus operandi, which works like a well-oiled machinery, farmers bring their yield to APMC Market Yard which is spread across sprawling 20 acres. After they stack their yield at the designated sheds, the commission agents auction the yield and the highest bidders bag it.
“We have a fixed commission of 5 per cent. While the farmer gets the entire amount, it is the buyer who pays us our commission. Since everything is done transparently, there is no scope for deceit,” Hongekar said adding every farmer has his own trusted commission agent.
Meanwhile, speaking about the price control of all the kitchen commodities most of the traders said that Goan authorities can easily find means and ways of keeping the prices of kitchen staple items like onion and potato in check. What is required is setting up of cold storage and other infrastructural facilities which would enable the stocking of commodities like onion and potato.
Most of the traders who spoke to The Goan on the condition of anonymity claimed, instead of depending on middlemen and local suppliers who are not the direct suppliers but are pseudo suppliers, cost of vegetables increases, which in turn causes heavy losses to the government.
“Instead of purchasing the onions and potatoes from the middlemen, government can directly purchase onion and potato during harvest time from the farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka. For example after a few days onion from Indore is expected to hit the market. Stored in a cold storage, the potato can be preserved for a period of six months, thus it would help the government to supply the same during the time of scarcity when the prices sky rocket,” a wholesale supplier said.
Instead of sub-contracting the supplies to local Goan suppliers, the authorities can always find the means and ways so that vegetables and other commodities are purchased at wholesale rates directly which in turn would enable to get the vegetables and other kitchen commodities at lesser rates passing the benefit directly to the consumers, a few traders opined.
