As if the sky-rocketing fuel prices were not enough to break the back of the common man, the food platter is also getting costlier, with vegetables, including staples like potato and onion, burning a hole in people’s pockets.
The soaring prices of petrol and diesel and damage to summer crops due to unseasonal and erratic rains in several states are driving up the prices, according to traders. While the prices of onion, tomato and green vegetables have seen a massive increase in most states over the past two weeks, potato has largely been stable except in a few states.
In Uttar Pradesh, the kitchen staple has not seen any rise in prices as the state saw a bumper crop this year. But tomato, which was selling at Rs 60 per kg a fortnight ago, has registered an increase of Rs 10-15 per kg while another kitchen essential, onion, is now costlier by about Rs 20. The prices of other vegetables such as lady finger (okra), brinjal, cauliflower and bottle gourd have been stable.
Vegetable traders expected the prices to escalate further. “Since the festive season is on and the fuel prices are touching record highs every day, the cost of transportation of vegetables has gone up. There is no hope of relief in the next few days. Demand is high and supply is less as onions and tomato are coming from outside the state,” said Shahnwaz Huassain, president, fruit and vegetable sellers union in Lucknow.
In Jaipur, too, consumers are feeling the pinch as most vegetables in the retail markets have become costlier by 15-25%. Only potato price has remained static. Nisha, a homemaker, said prices shoot up in the festive season every year and with Diwali round the corner, they’re going to increase further. “I buy in bulk. So, if I have to pay Rs 1,000-1,200 instead of Rs 600-800, it pinches.” Sanjay, owner of a vegetable shop in Jaipur, said many green vegetables are costlier also because of untimely rains.
In Bengal, even potato has become costlier by Rs 10 compared to a fortnight ago while people have to fork out Rs 20 extra per kg for onions. Tomato has hit the roof and is selling at Rs 90-93 a kilo in Kolkata while brinjal, which was selling at Rs 60 two weeks back, has touched Rs 100. Traders said prices tend to rise during September-October and stabilise only after winter crops arrive in the markets.
In Punjab and Haryana, supply shortage caused by heavy rains in the region and several other parts of the country is another factor behind rising prices. Onion is selling at Rs 50 per kg, up from Rs 35, while the price of tomato has doubled in a fortnight — from Rs 40 to Rs 80 per kg. Peas are selling at Rs 120 per kg, up from Rs 80, while cauliflower costs Rs 100 per kg as against Rs 60 per kg earlier.
Worry over oil prices
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday shared her concern on the fuel price rise. “The way the fuel prices are leading to a big crest... I don’t know how much will have to be diverted from other most important considerations, and that’s the challenge I see,” she told a few CEOs in New York
