The rise and fall in supplies have trigged big fluctuations in the price of vegetables, a trend that appears now to be tapering off with the onset of rains in some of the vegetable growing areas.
French beans, the price of which had begun to climb beyond Rs 60 a kg in the retail market in Ernakulam more than a month ago, continued to be pricey though the price came down by about Rs. 15 and Rs. 20 a kg between Sunday and Monday. A wholesale vegetable dealer in the city market said that French beans sold for Rs. 75 a kg on Monday, down from around Rs. 100. Similarly, the price of green chilly came down to Rs. 70 a kg in the retail market on Monday.
The vegetable dealer said that the day-to-day fluctuations had been witnessed for quite some time now and blamed the trend on a squeeze in supplies. The fall in arrivals in the Ernakulam market has been blamed on poor crop in areas like Ottanchatram and neighbouring areas from where vegetables are brought to Kerala.
The price of okra too cooled on Monday from the Sunday levels. The price of the vegetable came down to Rs. 40 a kg on Monday.
Figures from the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam showed the marked rise in the price of some of the key items, including that of nendran banana.
