ROURKELA: Consumers across Rourkela city and the rest of Sundargarh district are being forced to pay through their nose with prices of almost all vegetables ranging between Rs 80 and Rs 160 per kg this monsoon season. The price surge has been attributed to the demand-supply gap aggravated by absence of locally-grown vegetable crops due to rains.
In the retail markets of Rourkela, okra, brinjal, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, plantain, cow pea, tomato and carrot are selling at Rs 80 per kg while the cost of discoloured cauliflower is Rs 100 per kg. Similarly, beans and spiny gourd have become dearer at Rs 160 and Rs 200 per kg respectively, while drumstick and capsicum are priced Rs 120 per kg.
Pumpkin and raw papaya are being sold at Rs 50 per kg while unseasonal cabbage is available for Rs 60 per kg. Cost of green chilly has jumped to Rs 160 per kg from Rs 60 in two months. Coriander leaf has also become dearer at Rs 400 per kg.
Retail vendors said due to high prices of vegetables, most of the customers are increasingly resorting to bargaining and ultimately buying in small quantities.
Rourkela resident Rajesh Chaturvedi said fresh locally-grown vegetables are missing from the markets. Majority of the vegetables available are imported from different states. “For the past two months, I am forced to dole out extra money and settle for vegetables lacking freshness,” he rued.
Those in the know said normally, locally-grown vegetables from Nuagaon, Bisra, Kuanrmunda, Lathikata, Rajgangpur, Kutra and Bargaon blocks in Sundargarh along with nearby pockets of Jharkhand flood the retail markets of Rourkela to moderate the prices. However, vegetable prices shoot up every year during the monsoon. But in the ongoing monsoon season, the prices have surged significantly, they added.
Sources said in the kharif crop season 2025, vegetable cultivation has been programmed on 28,710 hectare of land in the district. But vegetable farming has been largely affected due to continuous heavy rainfall and long spells of low-pressure conditions in July.