KARACHI: It is still early in the morning with the sun just coming up but work at the New Sabzi Mandi (vegetable market) is almost over.

“Oh, the work here begins at around 5pm or 6pm when the trucks with fresh produce arrive. Then around 2am the buyers for the fresh produce start coming to bid for fruit or vegetables at the various auctions going on,” says Mohammad Faraz on being asked how come he was sitting around doing nothing. The man has sacks full of potatoes, onions, ginger and garlic piled up all around him. In fact he himself is resting on top of a pile of potato sacks.

“I am done for the day now. I will nap here till late afternoon,” he smiles as he gives his bed of potatoes a pat.

The potatoes and onions cost Rs8 and Rs10 per kilogram, respectively, at the Sabzi Mandi while their market rate is Rs40 per kg for onions and Rs17 for potatoes. It makes a big difference if you are buying in bulk. Each sack contains about 110kg of the vegetable.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets to go to the New Sabzi Mandi now due to the distance it is at from the city. Earlier, it was located in Gulshan-i-Iqbal at Askari Park actually an area easily accessible to citizens but after its shift to Sohrab Goth it is not so convenient for everyone to go there for their grocery shopping so they settle on doing it at Sunday Bazaars or at the regular green grocers.

The old Sabzi Mandi, relocated some 10 years ago, was much smaller and congested than the new one, which has broad double roads inside to allow big trucks to drive through. “At the old Sabzi Mandi you had to park your car in a parking area to make it to the market on foot, which could be a problem when carrying loads of fruit and vegetables back to the car,” says another worker Mohammad Saleem. “But,” he adds, “the roads at the New Sabzi Mandi though open and broad are all not properly made. Thanks to light drizzle the mud has settled a bit today, otherwise we wear pollution masks all the time. And if it rains too much, this entire place turns into a puddle.”

He also points out that there is no electricity at New Sabzi Mandi. “We use batteries to light up this market, which is not good when most of your work goes on at night,” he says. “We also have no water or gas connections here, which is a pity as so much business happens here. Pakistan is an agriculture country as it is and this is how the government treats the biggest wholesale market of fresh produce,” he says shaking his head.

Still, whoever designed the New Sabzi Mandi has done so with care. There are rows of markets with broad roads in between. For instance, after crossing the two roads from the potatoes, onions, ginger and garlic area you reach the green vegetables section. There are huge baskets full of lemons and lime, green and red chilies of various varieties, leafy vegetables such as mint, coriander, parsley, dill, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, etc, with other vegetables such as okra, carrots, tomatoes, beetroots, pumpkins and whatnot? The chilies here cost Rs20 per kg while in the market they are sold at Rs50 per kg. Lime can be bought at Rs80 per kg while in the market you have to pay Rs200 for that much. The same is the case with spinach which you can buy for Rs6 per kg while in the market you pay Rs40 per kg for it.

You see a man with a loudspeaker auctioning off his lot of aubergines and radishes. They are sold off to the highest bidder, who starts loading the lot on the pickup he has with him. There are people loading up vegetables everywhere on racks attached to motorcycles and wheelbarrows as well after winning their bids.

The fruit market which is as big can be entered from another gate. There are huge bunches of bananas here, apples, pomegranates, mangoes, peaches, grapes, dates, etc, all also available at half or three-fourth the price you buy them in the market. The only catch is that since this is a wholesale market you must buy an entire crate or box and not be too disappointed on finding two or three pieces of fruit that has gone bad. It is a very normal thing.

Surprisingly, the vegetables bought from the New Sabzi Mandi or the fruit bought from its fruit section is of very good quality. The vegetables are very fresh and last long and the fruits taste much sweeter than what is available in the market. “Well, perhaps your green grocer is picking up the poorest quality stuff from the Sabzi Mandi and your fruit seller is also doing the same while making huge profits reselling them at rates that are even above the ones set by the Consumer Rights Council.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2018