Village women struggle to sell cucumber in scorching heat amid falling demand

Trichy: While cucumber is known for keeping the body cool and helping people beat the heat during peak summers, the demand for it has fallen this year making it difficult for cucumber sellers to earn a decent income.

Around 20 women from Pirattiyur village on Trichy-Dindigul Road, who sell cucumber under scorching sun on the platform of the Good Shed Bridge, said that this year, the demand for it has gone down.

They said that they got the cucumbers from the farms in Iniyanur, Adhavathur, Allithurai and nearby villages in April and May. Each basket, which is priced at Rs 700 to Rs 800, will have 15 to 30 cucumbers depending on their size, they added. They said that on adding the transportation cost from the farm to the Good Shed Bridge, the cost could go up further. Therefore, they are priced at Rs 40 to Rs 50 for one medium-sized cucumber. The ones that are bigger are being sold at Rs 75 to Rs 80 per piece.

“I could hardly earn Rs 200 in a day from the sales. The demand has dropped because people don’t prefer it despite its good quality of keeping the body cool,” said Surya, who was selling cucumber for the first time to make a living.

“Some fruits are available only in particular seasons. The response was good last year but this year, only few are buying it,” said Eswari of the same village. The women said that they were confused whether the spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown to contain it may have affected the demand of cucumbers this year. Boopathi, of Pirattiyur, said she was upset as there was no takers for the produce. “Not even one piece was sold till 1 pm. I am waiting with the hope of selling out everything daily so that I can prevent a loss on my investment,” she said.

The Pirattiyur village women said that they were selling cucumbers in Gandhi market area also.