Thane, March 13 -- Farmers supplying vegetables to the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) at Shahpur and Kalyan in Thane district are facing a sharp decline in demand, triggered by the West Asia conflict and the subsequent domestic LPG supply crunch. A drastic reduction in export orders and local consumption is plunging vegetable prices to record lows, adversely affecting the livelihoods of farmers, traders, and others along the agricultural value chain. According to farmers and traders, vegetables such as bhindi (okra), karela (bitter gourd), cucumber, chilli, ginger, moringa and capsicum, which were earlier exported in large quantities to the United States and several countries in West Asia, are now witnessing almost no international demand. As a result, produce meant for export is being diverted to local markets, leading to a sharp price drop. Okra, once one of the most sought-after vegetables and previously sold at around Rs.50 per kilogram, is now fetching as little as Rs.10 per kilogram. Farmers said that such rates are too low to even cover basic harvesting and transporting their. Nandkumar Dohale, chairman of Shahpur APMC, said the situation has changed dramatically in a matter of weeks. "Earlier, more than 50 trucks used to arrive at Shahpur daily to procure vegetables for export and bulk distribution. Now, hardly any trucks are visiting these markets. Previously, we struggled to meet the high demand, but now there is virtually none. If the situation does not improve within the next 10 days, the consequences for farmers and traders will be unpredictable," he said. Adding to the crisis, hotels and restaurants across the region have either reduced or completely stopped purchasing vegetables due to constraints in LPG supply. Gajanan Umavne, a farmer from Shahpur, said many cultivators are now contemplating leaving their crops unharvested. "At the current rates, we will not even be able to recover the picking charges paid to workers in our farms," he said. The impact of the crisis is also being felt at the Kalyan APMC, which typically receives a large number of farmers from Kasara, Karjat, and the Murbad belt. Market officials said export-related business activity has dropped by nearly 80% in recent weeks. Vegetables such as chilli, ginger, lemon, and moringa usually dominate the export list from Kalyan APMC. Before the Iran war began, the market used to dispatch more than 50 tonnes of vegetables daily to Arab countries, traders said. Nearly two weeks into the conflict, their export operations have come to a near standstill. Shishil Yevale, president of Kalyan APMC, said vegetable prices have fallen by 50%-70% across several commodities, and the situation may deteriorate further if the international conflicts continue. He added that wholesale purchases by hoteliers have almost completely stopped. "Hotels were earlier among the biggest buyers of vegetables from the market. However, many of them have stopped visiting the APMC," he said....