ROURKELA: Amid demand-supply gap, vegetable prices continue to skyrocket by the day across retail markets of the city and district.
Most of the vegetables are priced between `40 and `80 per kg. On the other hand, compared to Traffic Gate daily vegetable market, the prices of vegetables are additionally costly by `10-15 per kg at Basanti Colony market and with other roadside retail vendors.
At Traffic Gate daily market, coriander and green chilly are priced at `300 and `200 per kg respectively. Capsicum and drum-stick are dearer at `80 per kg while cauliflower is priced at `70-80 per kg. Bitter-gourd and ivy-gourd are being sold at `60 and `45 per kg respectively while tomato, bean and cabbage are priced at `50 per kg.
Onion price too has soared up to `22 per kg and potato is being sold at `14-a-kg.
Sources said due to lack of adequate supply, finding fresh vegetables remains a challenge while carrot, peas, seam and beetroot are rarely available. Bulk of the vegetable needs of the city is catered by locally grown crops in Nuagaon, Bisra, Kuanrmunda and Lathikata blocks of Panposh sub-division along with few other pockets of Sundargarh and adjacent Jharkhand.
Agriculture office sources said in the ongoing kharif season, the district has decided to grow vegetables in 20,500 hectare with production target of 2.66 lakh tonne.
Panposh District Agriculture Officer N Mahanta described the demand-supply gap of vegetables as a seasonal phenomenon. In Nuagaon and other blocks, vegetable cultivation is done round the year and by mid-August, crops planted in summer would be ready for harvest.