KOCHI: It is time to tighten the purse strings. The monthly budget of an average Malayali is likely to be affected soon owing to a steep increase in the prices of some essential vegetables. The items that saw a hike in prices include two of the basic ingredients in every Malayali’s platter — onion and garlic.
“The prices of onion and garlic have gone up mainly because of the shortage in supply. Most of the central and northern states and neighbouring Karnataka received heavy rain in October, affecting the production. This has led to a demand-supply mismatch. Kerala, too, has been witnessing heavy rain for the past few weeks. As vegetables are highly perishable, traders cannot take the risk of keeping additional stocks,” said Nazeer M M, a trader at Kakkanad.
The traders said the prices will remain high until new stocks arrive.
The prices of onion, shallot (small onion), garlic, potato and tomato have increased steeply. The price of just one kilogram of garlic has increased by Rs 90 from the last month, to cross Rs 200 mark this month. Likewise, the price of small onion has increased by Rs 35 from last moth. Fortunately, the prices of many other vegetables remain stable.
According to traders, more local produce are expected to hit the market in two weeks. Under the Palakkad zone, vegetables will be procured from Vadakarappathi, Perumatty, Elevancherry, Kollengode and Kizhakkencherry.
“Prices have mainly gone up for the items brought from other states. According to traders, the October rain that lashed states like Maharashtra — one of the major suppliers of onion to Kerala — had led to the price hike,” said Uma P, Palakkad district manager, Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, Kerala (VFPCK).
“The prices will become stable if more local produce are brought to the retail market. After the recent floods, our domestic vegetable production has gathered momentum. We expect that cowpea, bitter gourd, snake gourd and tomato grown in various areas in Palakkad will reach the market in the coming weeks,” Uma said.