Spurt in vegetable prices upsets domestic budgets in Kochi

Along with fish and meat, vegetable prices too are seeing a sudden spurt, upsetting domestic budgets, burdening the food industry, and considerably reducing the volume of daily sales.

Along with fish and meat, vegetable prices too are seeing a sudden spurt, upsetting domestic budgets, burdening the food industry, and considerably reducing the volume of daily sales.

The case of tomato stands out. Though earlier reports indicated the price crossing the ₹100-a-kg mark, wholesalers in the city said some retailers were leveraging the situation to exploit buyers because the wholesale price was still in the vicinity of ₹80 a kg and retail price ruled around ₹90 a kg.

Veteran wholesaler N.H. Shameed blamed the current bout of price rise on short supplies triggered by rain damage to standing crop in some of the centres that met the market demand in Kerala. The local supplies had dried up with the rains setting in, he added.

Ansurhee Shammi in Kakkanad said any fluctuation in the price of items such as tomato significantly affected the balance of domestic budgets. Prices of other daily necessities such as ginger, green chilli and potato had also seen an upswing of late, she added.

Mr. Shameed said wholesalers were taking delivery of reduced stocks considering that the rains caused serious damage to vegetables such as tomato, ginger and green chilli. He said the price of French beans had gone up to ₹100 a kg in the retail market while the wholesale price was ₹80. The price of bananas nendran and njali too has gone up. Nendran bananas cost ₹70 a kg for the local variety while those from districts such as Wayanad cost slightly less. The njali variety is being sold for ₹80 a kg in the retail market.

Hotelier Sunesh Bhasi said the catering industry was taking a double hit with the price of meat going up and vegetables catching up. The price of oil sardines was hovering around ₹400 a kg and economy outlets would be soon forced to hike the price of daily meals, he added.

The price of vegetables such as beetroot, carrot, cabbage and beans is witnessing an uncontrolled spiral. Adding to the burden is the rising price of onions, costing around ₹35 to ₹40 a kg in the retail market.