KOCHI: Family budgets are taking a hit with the price of vegetables and fish headed northward. With tomatoes going for Rs 100/kg and carrots quoting Rs 120/kg, even staple veggies are threatening to eat into people’s finances. The situation is such that footfalls in markets have dropped sharply. Local traders blame the decline in arrivals from Tamil Nadu for the price hike.
Vendors at the otherwise bustling Ernakulam market are lamenting the severe impact on both customers and sellers, with current prices surpassing levels of the previous year.
Highlighting the difference in prices compared with last year, Majeed, a seller, said, “Prices fluctuate daily. However, this year they are at historic levels. We are barely making any money as people are reluctant to buy vegetables at exorbitant prices,” he remarked.
Majeed added: “Tomatoes are now at Rs 100/kg, compared with Rs 60 last year. An increase in prices has been observed in vegetables from Karnataka, while those from Tamil Nadu remain relatively more affordable.”
Najeeb, another vendor, attributed the price surge to adverse climatic conditions that have severely affected crops across the country. “The intense heat and subsequent drought have destroyed crops, leading to skyrocketing prices."
Saleem a vendor at Kaloor market, said that while fruit prices remain stable during the monsoon, the surge in vegetable prices has created significant hardship. Even fish prices have jumped due to the trawling ban,” he said. He cited Kerala’s dependency on neighbouring states for vegetables as the key reason for fluctuating prices.
Due to the trawling ban and the subsequent decline in catch, locally popular fish like sardine, and mackerel have also become dearer.
“However, the trawling ban is not the only reason behind the increase in the price of staples like sardine, mackerel, anchovy, and trevally. Anchovy and trevally are not available in the market now,” said Charles George, state secretary of the Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI). The fish in the market comes from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he added.