Flood effect: Rise in vegetable prices
Vegetable prices in the City have gone up steeply this month, recording an increase of almost 30 to 40 per cent over last month’s prices. Vegetable vendors attribute this sudden increase in prices to the floods in North Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
“The weather situation has caused heavy damage to many crops,” said Fazloor Rehman, a vegetable vendor at Russell Market.
The superior quality vegetables such as green chillies, brinjal and capsicum that used to come from Andhra Pradesh has been affected because of the floods. Mohammed, another vendor said: “Not only has the quality of the vegetables decreased, but the volume has also been impacted.”
The prices of onions and tomatoes has seen the maximum increase in the past few weeks. It is presently selling at Rs 25 per kg of onions and Rs 21 per kg tomatoes. Incidentally, onions and tomatoes are the most in demand at present. “Only last month, the price of onions were Rs 10 per kg. The increase has been sudden,” said Rehman, who sources his vegetables from farms in Devanahalli and Hoskote.
Tomatoes too have witnessed an unpredictable cost increase. At a prominent supermarket in the city, tomatoes cost Rs 25 per kg.
Vendors say prices will stabilise if the weather is permissible. At Rs 4 per bunch, paalak has also witnessed a price increase, so has coconut and drumstick at Rs 12 and Rs 3 a piece respectively.
