Vegetable prices have been on the rise in the city for the last few days and are likely to remain high for the next few days.
“The average price of vegetables now is ₹30 a kg,” says M. Rajendran, president of Thyagi Kumaran Market Vegetable Merchants Association.
The wholesale price of tomato is ₹ 40 a kg, small onion ₹ 70 a kg and big onion ₹ 30 a kg. Beans, carrot, yam and okra are all ₹ 40 a kg. In the case of chilli, it is ₹50 a kg. The prices of tomato and small onion are expected to come down and that of big onion go up, he says.
Poor rainfall
The main reason for the spiralling prices is poor rainfall, say vegetable traders.
There is no shortage in availability of vegetables and the demand has not reduced much because of the prices. Even in places where the rain has been good now, it will take three months for arrivals to start from these areas.
Most of the arrivals to Coimbatore now are from other States.
Further, there are restrictions to avoid overloading of trucks and transport costs are up, adding to the prices of the vegetables, Mr. Rajendran says.
Hoteliers, domestic consumers and bulk buyers are affected equally. Even a domestic consumer needs four or five varieties of vegetables a day. Tomatoes and onions are essential. If the prices continue to remain high, it will bring down the volume of purchase.
Usually, prices are down during this period. Arrivals from different parts of the State are not there now and most of the vegetables come from other States. Though hotels buy directly from farmers, availability is down this year because of monsoon failure, says D. Srinivasan, president of Coimbatore District Hoteliers’ Association. The volume of vegetables used cannot be reduced and there are no substitutes to replace some vegetables. Hence, hotels are finding it difficult to manage. “Business is down 30 % since the implementation of GST,” he says.
The demand for vegetables will go up next month as the festival season starts and this might lead to further increase in prices, adds Mr. Rajendran.
