Even curry leaves cost dear

[1]

A bunch of curry leaves often came free with purchase of vegetables till a fortnight ago. But, the soaring prices have not spared even these humble leaves, an item that’s discarded even after a meal. It now costs Rs 30 a kg.

Most hotels have in recent days hiked the prices of food items by around 20 per cent; and where the hike is not that high, the hotels skipped a second serving of most dishes.

The increase in the prices of vegetables and rice has been around 30-40 per cent.

Trade admits a lack of availability of most items led to this rise. A leading vegetable vendor in Kochi market, Sasi, notes the state depends mostly on Tamil Nadu for vegetables. There are gardens growing vegetables exclusively.

“Now, there are competitors from other states too. Beans, for which traders from here used to bid for Rs 18-20 a kg, now faces competition from other states who bid for Rs 40-45 a kg. This makes us get a very small share at a very high price. This is reflected in retail prices,” he says.

Earlier, there used to be a price rise once or twice a year. But it appears that, now, a price fall may happen once or twice a year.

A vendor, A. Kareem, says among those who bid for the vegetables are big retail chains, and they fear that, very soon, prices would be decided by these chains.

Another said that, in the coming days, the price would be higher owing to the monsoon. Anticipating this, prices are being jacked up now itself.

The scene is no different in the case of rice, the price of which ranges between Rs 23 and Rs 25 a kg. However, the supply of rice to BPL groups at Rs 1 a kg has made the scene less severe, admit traders.

In Kozhikode, the cost of standard meals in most hotels has gone up by 20-25 per cent and this includes that of the popular biriyani.

Market intervention to continue

The state government would continue with the ongoing market intervention measures till the Onam and Ramzan season to arrest the price hike.

This was decided at the high-level meeting held here Thursday to discuss the measures to be taken to check price spiral.

The meeting decided to supply Jaya and Kuruva, two rice varieties with maximum demand in the state market, through Consumerfed. Jaya rice variety will be priced at Rs 16 and Kuruva at Rs 19.

The government has also decided to supply 10 essential items through Nanma stores for a reduced price. It would also start 22 outlets of the Consumerfed.

More rice at BPL rates Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the central government has assured the state it would provide an additional quota of 169 lakh tonnes of rice at BPL rates.