Buyers dump veg mandi despite healthy arrivals as farmers sell directly

Covid spread has taught farmers to ditch middleman and start their own group to conduct farm-to-kitchen sales, under which both consumer and cultivator gain

Almost a week since the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) near Mumbai re-started operations, vegetable arrivals have increased steadily. Buyers, however, aren't purchasing as much as they used to prior to the maintenance shutdown of the mandi.

Consequently, farmers are being forced to sell their produce below the cost of cultivation or with a marginal profit either through middlemen (arhatiyas) or by selling directly to bulk and retail purchasers. After a week of maintenance shutdown, the vegetable section of APMC Mumbai started on Monday with the arrival of 93 vehicles as against permission to 150 vehicles. The total number of