Petit piment for a luxury product since small chilies fetching between Rs 800 and Rs 900 per half kilo, being the result from recent adverse weather. Planters, grappling with challenges, vocally condemn climate change.
The exorbitant surge in small pepper prices, ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 900 per half kilo, has garnered descriptions using a plethora of adjectives. Consumers feel the sting of this increase, while planters endeavor to rationalize it. The primary culprit: a marked production reduction due to recent unfavorable weather.
Saïd Bundhoo, a Solitude vegetable grower, emphasizes that the scarcity of vegetables drives price hikes, not significant profits. He points out that labor costs and expenses significantly impact their profits. Bundhoo asserts that governments should have made substantial investments in food production, especially in protected agriculture projects. He advocates for increased investment in seed production to ease constraints faced by planters with imported seeds.
Banita Naraina, president of the Palma Water Users Cooperative Society, attributes the dizzying rise in vegetable prices to a shortage in plantations, linked to high ground temperatures due to climate change. This adverse climate forces planters to curtail production, contributing to the scarcity of vegetables in the market. Naraina complains about overpricing tactics employed by some merchants, citing instances where vegetables bought at lower prices at auction are sold at significantly higher rates to consumers. She highlights the impact of climate-induced fruit production decline in the prices of ‘giraumon’ and emphasizes the need for patience among growers and consumers until winter brings potential relief.
Source: Petit piment for a luxury product – https://defimedia.info/de-rs-800-rs-900-le-demi-kilo-de-petit-piment-produit-de-luxe
