Chandigarh, Nov 15: Cauliflower growers across the Bathinda region are experiencing severe financial strain as wholesale prices have dropped to Rs 3-5 per kg over the past few days, even as the vegetable retails at around Rs 15 per kg.
According to farmers, the prevailing wholesale rates are insufficient to cover basic harvesting and transportation expenses, making it difficult to recover investments made in seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides. Because cauliflower is highly perishable and cannot be stored for extended periods, growers noted they have little choice but to offload their produce at current market rates.
“If the situation remains the same for the next few days, many of us will have no option but to throw it away as cattle feed,” several growers remarked.
Gurjinder Singh, Assistant Director, Horticulture, Bathinda, explained that the market downturn stems from expanded acreage. “The area under cauliflower cultivation has increased this year, resulting in a fall in prices. The prices were better last year. In Bathinda district, cauliflower is mainly grown in the Rampura, Maur and Talwandi Sabo areas. The total area under cauliflower cultivation in the district is nearly 300 hectares,” he stated.
He also noted that while farmers who opted for early sowing reaped good returns, those who planted late are bearing the brunt of the price drop. Department estimates indicate that cultivation costs roughly Rs 50,000 per acre for early sowing and Rs 25,000 per acre for late sowing. “It is a nearly three-month crop and gives a yield of 50-80 quintals per acre,” an official added.
For local cultivators, the sudden crash has prompted a rethink of future cropping patterns. Gurpreet Singh, a farmer from a village near Abohar who planted the vegetable across four acres, shared his distress over the mounting losses. “After spending money on seeds, fertilisers, sprays, harvesting and transportation, we are getting only Rs 3-4 per kg. It is difficult to recover even the basic costs. I will never sow cauliflower again. I would rather buy it from market for my family’s consumption,” he asserted.
Another cultivator, Balwinder Singh, pointed out that last year’s lucrative Diwali market—where prices touched Rs 50 per kg—had prompted growers to aggressively expand their sowing area this season, inadvertently flooding the market.
“Farmers should learn from this experience and cultivate cauliflower on a smaller area next season. If everyone grows the same vegetable in large quantities, prices are bound to crash. We should sow it in limited areas to get remunerative prices,” Balwinder Singh maintained, noting that many growers are now exploring alternative crops to safeguard their livelihoods.
