LAUTOKA market vendors have been forced to increase the prices of their produce as supply of vegetables have declined because of the dry weather.

Yasmin Nisha, a market vendor, said the price increase was to cover for the short supply vendors had been receiving.

“Because I have short supply I have been selling at a loss every week,” she said.

“Even with the price increase I still earn only half of what I normally get.”

“This is because of the very dry and hot weather so my supplier can only give me a certain amount of vegetables.”

Nadesa Naidu, 70, said he relied on suppliers because his own vegetable farm had become bare.

“I always plant my own vegetables and bring it to the market to sell,” he said.

“But now everything I plant is not growing and some are dead so when I get my vegetables supplied I have to increase my own prices again to get some profit but this time not much profit is made.

“My supplier is from Saru and he supplies me with pawpaw, pumpkin, baigan, bhaji and bhindi but most of them are really small and that is because of the weather,” he said.

Meanwhile, Atish Chand said farmers were suffering a loss because of the drought experienced in most parts of the western region.

For 30 years he supplied vegetables to eight and 10 vendors at the Lautoka market.

“I was affected by the flood four times when I lived in Drasa and then I moved to Lovu to carry on with my farming,” he said.

He said during this dry season cabbages were the hardest to grow.

West principal agricultural officer Vinesh Kumar said the increase in vegetable prices could be attributed to the dry weather.

“We have a steady supply of okra and long bean but we are also expecting prices of root crops to go up this season.”