Fruit and vegetable prices shoot up in Thiruvananthapuram post floods, fuel price hike
TIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of fuel prices skyrocketing in the city, vegetables and fruit rates have also gone up in the city. The vendors say there is a scarcity of vegetables and fruits in the market post the floods. Recent hike in petrol and diesel prices have also pushed up the fruit and vegetable prices. Items with bulk demand like tomatoes and onions have become dearer.
The middle class buyers are the most affected. “The vegetable and fruit prices are continuing to shoot up. Hope the situation will change when the fuel prices come down,” said Viswan M P, a customer at Palayam market.
The price hike is also affecting small caterers and small scale vendors. Though apple prices are expected to come down usually after the monsoons, the rates are shooting up in the market with one kilogram of apple costing Rs 140-150. Off season fruits like orange, grapes and guava cost around Rs 80 in the market.
“Usually apple prices come down to Rs 40-50 by mid September which is the season for apples. But this time the prices have been escalating and is already double the regular price,” said Gireesh Kumar, a fruit vendor at Chalai Market.
The situation is the same with vegetables too. Now one kilogram lemon costs around Rs 80 in the market which is double the regular price. Shop owners are of the opinion that the cost of lemon will reach Rs 200 in two weeks. “These rates will remain for at least three months,” said Manoj V, shopkeeper at the Chalai market.
Price of tomatoes have increased from Rs 16 to 25, onions from Rs 20 to 30, drum sticks from Rs 15 to 30 and green chillies from Rs 30 to 50 in the last two weeks. The rise in fuel prices have forced distributors to charge around Rs 120-200 more from shopkeepers by adding vehicle rent and travelling expenses.