At the FCB auction yard in Phuentshogling, farmers are struggling to sell vegetables. They are unable to even fetch the minimum rate to meet the transportation cost. Now they are calling for better and more export opportunities.
65-year-old Tshering from Jabana in Paro arrived at the auction yard in Phuentshogling with a truckload of vegetables for the third time this season. But with each visit, the prices have only fallen further. Now, Tshering is frustrated and worried. The earnings from the produce cannot even cover the cost of transporting them. Back home, nearly 400 more sacks of cabbage wait in the fields but with prices this low, he wonders if harvesting them is even worth it.
“Sometimes, they even refuse to auction our vegetables. Last year, we earned at least 600 ngultrum per sack of cabbage right from our village. But this year, farmers are incurring heavy losses. We have heard that some are losing several hundred thousand ngultrum. We grew a lot of vegetables this year because the government encouraged us to.”
Like Tshering, many farmers at the auction yard are disheartened. After months of exhausting labour in their fields, the returns have been painfully low. Some say they earned just 100 per sack of cabbage, far less than the Nu 120 to 150 they spent on transportation alone.
Farmers are getting only up to Nu 700 for a sack of carrots this year, compared to Nu 1,500 they earned last year.
They said, with only two Indian buyers dominating the market, they feel powerless, pointing to a pricing monopoly.
Tobgay from Jabana said, “In the morning, the FCB officials asked the Indian buyers for the money today itself saying the farmers are pressuring them for the payment. This made the buyers to even stop the auction. When the auction resumed, the prices dropped by hundreds. We farmers should not be left to struggle to this extent. If this is how things are going to end up, I would urge the government to restrict farmers from growing vegetables.”
Thinley from Tsento Gewog in Paro said “If our officials could at least look at the quality and fix a starting price by themselves while auctioning, it will benefit the farmers a lot. I see auctioneers asking the buyers the starting price, and when the price it very low, the prices don’t go up much no matter how much the competition is.”
Jamtsho, a driver from Paro said, “I transport vegetables here and I charge them Nu 120 per sack. After auctioning, they are fetching as low as Nu 100 and they cannot even meet the transportation cost. Now it is difficult to even ask them for the fixed transportation cost. Even we the drivers are suffering losses.”
However, FCB officials said the supply is exceeding the demand in India.
Kinley Wangchuk, the complex manager of FCBL in Phuentshogling said, “There is huge production of vegetables everywhere and not just here in our country. For instance, the production of cabbage in our country is really good and similarly, there is huge cabbage production from Assam and Shillong. So, the market is seeing huge supply and that’s why the prices are affected.”
He added that they are exploring ways to enhance market despite challenges.
Meanwhile, with fields still full and markets offering little promise, farmers said, they are increasingly becoming discouraged.
Kinley Dem, Phuentshogling
Edited by Kipchu
