Dhaniya (coriander) and hari mirch (green chilli) have always been seen as the ‘freebies’ that the vendor gives when you buy vegetables. But the once-ordinary bunch of dhaniya patti has transformed from a complimentary add-on to a costly kitchen essential!Fresh coriander, which neighbourhood vegetable vendors routinely tucked into shopping bags at no extra cost, has become unexpectedly expensive after heavy rainfall disrupted supplies from major growing regions. In fact, coriander is now commanding a premium – selling at over Rs 200 per kg.
Coriander prices rise
The sharp increase followed intense rainfall in and around Nashik in Maharashtra, a key source of green coriander for markets across northern India.Flooding toward the end of July damaged standing crops and disrupted transportation, reducing the supply of coriander that could withstand the long-distance journey to Delhi.Traders said weather-related disruptions to transportation further fuelled the sharp swings in prices seen on certain days this week.At Delhi’s Azadpur mandi, fresh coriander prices climbed to Rs 175 per kg, while retail rates earlier this week reached Rs 220-230 per kg, according to traders quoted in an ET report.Mukesh Kumar, a vegetable trader at Azadpur mandi, was quoted as saying that the wholesale prices during this period of the year are typically around Rs 25 per kg. Traders added that wholesale rates had briefly surged to Rs 200 per kg before easing to about Rs 110 per kg.About a month ago, the availability of good-quality green coriander had already tightened, pushing local prices in Nashik to nearly Rs 130 per kg, said Krushna Borade, a vegetable trader and exporter based in the city.He added that supplies from other producing centres, including Bengaluru and Latur, had also fallen because of delayed rainfall.Borade said the recent spell of heavy rain caused extensive damage to coriander crops across several regions, making premium-quality produce increasingly difficult to procure.The shortage has been particularly acute for varieties capable of enduring long-distance transportation to markets such as Delhi.According to Mukesh Kumar, Karnataka has helped bridge part of the supply shortfall, but arrivals have remained limited and the quality of the produce has generally been inferior.Coriander harvested around Nashik is usually sent first to cold-storage facilities in Indore before being transported to Delhi, leaving the supply chain highly susceptible to interruptions caused by heavy rain.“It is very difficult to predict prices of leafy greens during the rainy season as they can jump multi-fold within a day of delayed arrival,” said Aniket Kapadi, a coriander trader from Nashik.
