The arrival of products with a better size, in certain cases also with affected quality and hand in hand with rising pricesin several areas although not in all, is what is happening in the fruit and vegetable stalls at fairsconsequence of impact of drought on farm production plots.
Hugo Seoane, vendor consulted by The Observerwhose stall is presented on different days of the week in Parque Rodó, Parque Batlle, Centro, Tres Cruces and La Comercial, admitted that the impacts of the drought are already being felt and are estimated to be greater each time.
“Right now there is a little more demand than supply in many items and that is what explains the rising prices,” he said.
He pointed out that The first segment in which there were price increases was that of leafy vegetables.
“They suffer from the lack of water and the intense heat, the ladder of planting every 15 days to always have prompt and good quality merchandise, with stable prices, was cut off due to the drought except when it is possible to irrigate, so the prices of lettuce, chard, spinach, arugula, leeks and beets, for example, have risen“, said.
At his stall this Thursday, a good quality lettuce was already $70 and a bundle of chard was worth the same.
In other items, there were increases in sweet potatoes and onions, to cite two items where the change in value was notorious. In both cases, always speaking of a good quality merchandise, the price is $100 per kilo.
He clarified that there are stalls where you can find, for example, a low-quality sweet potato, even crooked, “but it still doesn’t go below $70.”
There are, he indicated, some items in which the offer is good and the price continues to be controlled. It happens with various fruits, for example with grapes that are $60 per kilo.
Another example of a stable and even low price is that of zucchinia product that can withstand more drought, is more rustic and resistant, there is a good offer and the kilo is at $35.
Camilo dos Santos
The drought generates impacts on the volume of supply, its quality and prices.
Seoane recounted that people continue to attend the fair, that they buy and that in the cases in which prices have risen, they obviously convey their complaintswhich are received by the showman, “that We are not to blame, we are price takers and we adjust when there are increases what is necessary to lend a hand, but hey, we are the visible facewe put our face to it because we are the ones dealing with the client”.
Farmer Observatory
This Monday, in the report on wholesale prices prepared by the Farmer Observatory, it was indicated that at the beginning of the week, in the operations of the Metropolitan Agri-Food Unit, there were decreases in the reference prices of zucchini, Kabutiá squash, cherry tomato and grapes, At the same time, there were increases in the values of Redondo and Perita tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, zucchini, Catalan chili peppers, green beans, eggplant, green onion, spinach, lettuce, watermelon, melon and strawberries.
