Likely Demand of Vegetables of Himachal Pradesh in the Neighbouring Consuming States During Next Ten Years, 2006 by Ranveer Singh, C. S. Vaidya and Anshuman
Abstract: Himachal Pradesh has a potential of becoming vegetable bowl of the country because the State has diverse agro-climatic conditions and scope of growing off-season vegetables is also very high. Most of the farmers of Himachal Pradesh are marginal and many of them recognize that the potential income from growing vegetables is higher than that of growing cereals. They also recognise that since vegetables are perishable, risks associated with growing vegetables are also very high. During the course of study, it was observed that during summer and rainy season, though the prices of vegetables remain high but the consumers are forced to purchase even at these prices. After the mid of November there seems a glut of vegetable arrival in the market especially from West BengalMaharashtra, Gujarat,Punjab and Haryana. Summer and Rainy season are the major periods for off-season vegetables of Himachal Pradesh. Hence, by increasing the area under cultivation of vegetables or by increasing their productivity the vegetable growers of Himachal can reap the benefits of growing demand of neighbouring markets. Demand of exotic vegetables like lettuce, asparagus, celery, swiss chard, parsley, Brussels’s sprouts, broccoli, red cabbage, etc. among the mid and high income population of Delhi is also very high. Presently, the supply of these vegetables is very limited. Majority of these vegetables are imported from other countries and sold at a very high price. Thus these vegetables are affordable to five star hotels and large restaurants. Changing life style of mid and high income class tends to include continental cuisine in their daily diet. Hence, demand for these vegetables would increase in near future.
