Vegetable Prices Soar: Retail Tomato Prices At Rs 80/Kg Due To Unseasonal Rains, Hike In Fuel Cost

Unseasonal rain and damaged crops with little to no supply from neighbouring cities like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pushed the prices of vegetables

New Delhi: The national capital is witnessing a fresh surge in prices of vegetables owing to a rise in fuel prices and unseasonal rains in several parts of the country, according to traders. The common man is bearing the brunt of the rising cost of vegetables in the market with a slight relief expected next month.

Which vegetables have witnessed a rise?

Prices of vegetables, especially tomato and okra, have witnessed a sharp rise in the past one month in the wholesale and retail markets in the city. Tomato prices in October were at Rs 33.5 per kg and it is being sold at Rs 44.25, while price of okra has increased to Rs 35 per kg from Rs 15 last month, said Adil Ahmad Khan, chairman of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) of Azadpur Mandi.

"With high fuel prices & rainfall, vegetable prices tend to rise. How will daily-wage workers buy tomatoes worth Rs 70/kg? Whole budget is disturbed,” says Sonu Pehlwan, a vegetable vendor, at Okhla Fruit & Vegetable market to news agency ANI.

The higher prices are obviously more glaring in the retail and online market where customers have to shell out anything between Rs 90 to Rs 108 and Rs 100 to Rs 120 for one kg of tomato and okra, respectively, as per PTI report. Among other vegetables pumpkin, cauliflower and ridge gourd have also seen a surge of late, impacting the budget of homemakers like Vandana Thappa in Ramesh Nagar.

"Everyday you go out to buy vegetables the price is more than what it was yesterday. You try bargaining with the vendor, and he tells you that 'piche se hi mehnga aa raha hai' (getting it at an increased price from wholesale market only)," Thapa told PTI.  She believes that the government can at least keep a check on the price of vegetables but then they just won't.

Retail tomato prices surge across the country

Retail tomato prices are ruling at Rs 80 per kg in most cities across India but the rates have shot up to as high as Rs 120 per kg in few southern states because of widespread rains, according to government data, reported PTI.

In Chennai, retail price of tomato was at Rs 100 per kg, Puducherry Rs 90 per kg, Bengalure Rs 88 per kg and Hyderabad Rs 65 per kg.

In Kerala, retail prices of tomato are ruling at Rs 120 per kg in Kottayam, Rs 110 per kg in Ernakulam, Rs 103 per kg in Tiruvananthapuram, Rs 100 per kg in Palakkad, Rs 97 per kg in Trissure, and Rs 90 per kg in Wayanad and Kozikode.

In Karnataka, retail prices of tomato are ruling at Rs 85 per kg in Dharwad, Rs 84 per kg in Mysure, Rs 80 a kg in Mangalore and Rs 78 per kg in Bellary.

In Andhra Pradesh, tomato prices are ruling at Rs 91 per kg in Vijawada, Rs 80 per kg in Vishakapatnam and Rs 75 per kg in Tirupati.

In Tamil Nadu, tomato is selling at Rs 119 per kg in Ramanathapuram, Rs 103 per kg in Tirunelveli, Rs 97 per kg in Thiruchirapalli, Rs 94 per kg in Cuddalore and Rs 90 per kg in Coimbatore.

However, in the national capital, the tomato was sold at Rs 72 per kg, according to the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry for 167 centres representing all regions of the country.

What’s the reason behind the surge in vegetable prices?

Adil Ahmad Khan Khan, APMC Chairman, mentioned that any surge in the price of diesel impacts the price of vegetables and it is being witnessed now. Hence, the prices of almost all green vegetables are more than what it was in the previous month. "Besides the hike in diesel prices, the less supply of vegetables is also due to damage because of rains and the overwhelming demand of vegetables in the ongoing wedding season. These are also significant reasons behind price rise," Khan added.

Petrol in Delhi on Wednesday is Rs 103.97 per litre, while diesel was retailing at Rs 86.67 per litre. According to SP Gupta, former APMC chairman of Ghazipur Mandi, the skyrocketing vegetable prices will start showing some sign of easing next month with the arrival of new crops in the market.

"This time due to unseasonal rain and damaged crops there was little to no supply from neighbouring cities like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The tomato that we are getting is coming from as far as Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh or Shimla. In fact, our supply from Bangalore is also not coming through," he said. However, Gupta is hoping that as supplies from other states start next month, there will be some relief.

"We'll start receiving our supply from all these states starting next month, which would hopefully help in lowering the inflated price of vegetables," Gupta explained.