Bad season: Vegetables at BiH markets are up to 40 percent more expensive than last year

Vegetables at markets in the Canton of Sarajevo are 30 to 40 percent more expensive compared to the same period last year, according to a survey by the Patria News Agency (NAP) at the city market in Ilijaš and the Markale market in Sarajevo.

Due to a large number of rainy days that have lasted since April this year, BiH farmers have lost their crops, and even the few fruits that managed to be saved are not of satisfactory quality. Greenhouse vegetable cultivation has also failed. High humidity in the air causes peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes to rot before they even develop into fruit.

Traders are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, and they complain that it is also difficult to find these goods in the markets of Serbia or Macedonia, from where BiH traders traditionally import vegetables, because the season there has also failed, so Serbian and Macedonian farmers do not have enough even for their own consumers.

The price of peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes at the market in Ilijaš on July 29 was 1.5 KM. The price of the same items in July last year at this market was below one KM, according to Patria's analyses, which was also confirmed by traders.

The most expensive vegetables on July 29 were at the Markale market in Sarajevo, where the poorest quality peppers and tomatoes were sold for 2 KM, while the average price for these products was 3 KM. The same products did not exceed the price of 2.5 KM at this market in July last year.

The high prices of vegetables at BiH markets will not fall in the coming period, and it is not excluded that they will continue to rise. Market vendors say they are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain products because supplies are being depleted quickly, Patria reports.