Vendors feel pinch as dry spell drives up costs

Nadi Market vendor Vani Adi is paying up to three times more for some vegetables as dry conditions reduce supplies, but she says vendors cannot pass the full cost on to customers already facing higher prices.

Produce she once bought for $20 can now cost between $50 and $60, leaving her caught between rising wholesale prices and keeping vegetables affordable.

“We are middleman people. We buy vegetables from farmers and then sell. Before, the things that we used to get for $20, now it is $50 and $60,” she said.

Ms Adi, 45, has been selling vegetables for 22 years and travels from Korovuto to Nausori every Thursday night to buy whatever produce is available.

She lives with her husband and son and sells vudi (plantain), coconuts, chillies, ginger, pumpkin and different varieties of lemons.

The cost of vudi, which remains in demand, has also increased. A bag that previously cost about $100 now sells for around $120.

But Ms Adi said increasing her own prices was not a simple solution.

“We cannot just raise our prices, as it has to be affordable to the customer as well,” she said.

Limited supplies, however, mean some prices have to rise despite the pressure on consumers.

“Everyone is affected by inflation, and somehow the others we all are affected,” she said.

For Ms Adi, every trip to Nausori now means spending more to secure produce while not knowing how much will be available.

The squeeze leaves vendors absorbing some of the increased cost while customers also face higher prices for vegetables.