At Rs 80 per kg, veggies not good for health
You either have to increase the budget allocated for vegetables or eat lesser amount of greens for the next few days. The vegetable prices in the City have gone through the roof because of poor supply and extreme heat conditions sweeping through most parts of the state. On Monday, beans was selling for Rs 80, while tomatoes for Rs 38. Not just these two, the prices of other vegetables too have gone up considerably over the last one week. Vegetable vendors warned that the prices will continue to go up in the next few days.
Last week, tomatoes were selling for Rs 20-26 last week. But after Ugadi, prices shot up and now it is being sold for Rs 38. Beans was below Rs 50 till Saturday. Capsicum (Rs 52 to Rs 56), basale greens (Rs 50 to Rs 54), bottle gourd (Rs 30 to Rs 33), brinjal (Rs 40 to Rs 45), lady’s finger (Rs 55 to Rs 60), carrot (Rs 45 to Rs 48), drumstick (Rs 55) are the other vegetables whose prices have jumped by a big margin.
Vegetable vendors attribute the price hike to poor supply and heat. “On one side we are not getting enough vegetables, while on the other vegetables are getting rotten fast because of the heat. We have to keep the margins high to cover the costs. Drought-like condition in southern parts of the state has also impacted the prices. The supplies from vegetable belts, like Kolar, have almost dried up,” said Harish S. Bhat, a vegetable vendor in Malleshwaram. Hoteliers are finding it difficult to keep the prices of food items under check.
Ravishankar B., a hotel owner, said, “We are not using tomatoes at all for rasam for the last 15 days. We are using onions and potatoes in most of our dishes. As long prices of these two vegetables stay stable, we will not increase the rates on our menus.” The Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd (Hopcoms) President B. Munegowda said there has been a “slight” increase in the prices of vegetables over the last few days. “But the prices at Hopcoms outlets is lesser compared to the open market. Prices are going up because of poor supply,” he said.
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