CHENNAI: For some time now a steep rise in onion prices has been burning holes in the pockets of the common man. Many have even stopped consuming it till the prices come down. To add to the woes, over the last 20 days, prices of vegetables like drumstick, garlic and beans have shot up as well.
At Koyambedu vegetable market on Sunday, one kilo of drumstick was sold at Rs 240, one kg of garlic cost a whopping Rs 290 while beans was priced at Rs 110. Vendors said that due to heavy rains in Tamil Nadu as well as neighbouring states, it was taking longer than usual for the goods to arrive at wholesale markets, thus leading to a rise in prices.
“This weekend, the demand for drumstick was a lot more as many weddings were taking place in the city. At Koyambedu, one kilo of drumstick was around Rs 400 but today its around Rs 300,” said Rajaram, who owns a vegetable shop in Mandaveli.
On the other hand, wholesale prices of onion are slowly decreasing and coming back to normal. Traders at Koyambedu wholesale market said that more lorries from Sholapur and Nashik started arriving this week.
“On Saturday, instead of the usual 40 lorries, 55 lorries carrying onion from Maharashtra arrived at Koyambedu. On Monday, we are expecting around 80 lorries to come. Last week, 50 kgs of onion cost Rs 8,000 but now, it’s come down to Rs 6,000. Third-grade onions cost around Rs 3,000. Prices will decrease further in the coming weeks,” said Abdul Khader, secretary, Koyambedu Vegetable Wholesale Merchants Association.
As winter has set in, prices of herbs like coriander and mint have also escalated. Last week, three bunches of coriander leaves were sold at Rs 10. Now each bunch costs Rs 10. “At the wholesale level, all other vegetables like tomato, potato, lady’s finger, beetroot and brinjal are priced at Rs 50-Rs 70, which is normal. But when sold at retail stores, prices considerably increase due to high demand,” added Abdul.
The prices of these vegetables have also skyrocketed in other parts of the State.