When Arpitha of Yekkur went to purchase garlic at a shop at the Central Market on Tuesday she was shocked to hear that it cost Rs. 120 a kg Garlic vanished from her menu. The retail price of garlic in places like Urwa Market had touched up to Rs. 130 a kg on Wednesday. Rajesh, a retail trader at Urwa Market, said that a month ago, garlic cost between Rs. 50 and Rs. 60 a kg He was not sure why garlic prices have shot up now. Even at Rs. 130 a kg, good quality of garlic was not available, he said.
A shop at Jeppu market sold garlic at Rs. 100 a kg on Wednesday while the prices at the Central Market stood between Rs. 80 and Rs. 120 a kg. Murugesh, a retail trader, at the Central Market said that he was not sure why prices have gone up now.
He said that he procured the garlic from Chikmagalur. Abbas, another retail trader who sold it for Rs. 120 a kg said that he got garlic from Pune. Mohammed Adil, a prominent wholesale trader of garlic at Bunder said the wholesale price stood between Rs. 40 and Rs. 75. He said that there was no short supply.
Adil said that he procured it from Madhya Pradesh where the harvest of garlic (which he said was a three-month crop) ended in September. Farmers have sown the seeds in October. As more garlic would hit the market in mid-January, the prices were expected to come down. He said that high prices in retail market could be due to speculation.
