KOZHIKODE: Prices of vegetables continue to skyrocket due to flood-like situation in neighbouring states, especially Tamil Nadu. On Monday, a kilogram of drumstick commanded Rs 300 in Kozhikode, registering a two-fold increase.
Tomato hit a century — Rs 100 per kilogram. In Thiruvananthapuram also, tomato price touched three digits. The other major items whose prices jumped up include ladies finger, cabbage, beetroot. At the same time, there was a slight dip in the price of onion and potato while that of carrot remained steady. The arrival of vegetables from other states has gone down by half and there was also a slump in the sale of vegetables.
“Normally 20 loads of vegetables used to reach Kozhikode city daily, but has gone down by half. Drumstick coming from Indore (Madhya Pradesh) cost Rs 300 on Monday. The same from Tamil Nadu, costing Rs 150 is out of stock now as fresh loads are not arriving,” said Satheesh Kumar K T, proprietor of S S Vegetables at Moonalingal in Kozhikode.
Another wholesale trader, Mohammed Ali A of stall No 2, Palayam market, said sale has gone down by half. “The price rise began 15 days ago due to inclement weather in neighbouring states. We have been badly hit,” he laments. Usually, Sabarimala season registers an increase in vegetable sales, but this year the trend has been reversed.
Horticorp is taking all steps to curb the prices, but insufficient stock and limited stalls are causing impediments. Horticorp price of tomato on Monday was Rs 87 and that of cabbage stood at Rs 44 a kilo. The retail price of cabbage in the open market was Rs 50.
“We have 15 stalls here and a new one will come up next week to rein in prices. Normally Rs 1 lakh-1.10 lakh is our daily revenue from all the stalls. It has increased in the current situation and we have got Rs 2 lakh on Fridays when there is special market fair,” said Horticorp regional manager Shaji T R. But Horticorp has no stall in Kozhikode city. Malappuram district horticorp manager Benny Sebastian too said that sales have gone up by 50%. But, Horticorp has only six stalls in the district.