Monsoon pushes up vegetable prices

Wild mushrooms start arriving in the market from Karkala and Kudremukh

June 20, 2012 01:35 pm | Updated 01:35 pm IST - MANGALORE

It is boom time for vegetable vendors as there is good demand amdist the rising prices in Mangalore. Photo: R. Eswarraj

It is boom time for vegetable vendors as there is good demand amdist the rising prices in Mangalore. Photo: R. Eswarraj

Prices of many vegetables continue to remain high in the central market here even as wild mushroom, which grows naturally in hills in the beginning of rainy season, has begun arriving in the market.

Mahesh Sharma, a wholesale vegetable trader who also sells wild mushroom, told The Hindu that it was currently priced at Rs. 240 a kg. (wholesale price).

Mr. Sharma said that wild mushroom, the seasonal vegetable, was available in the market only in the first two months of rainy season. He said he got it mainly from Karkala and Kudremukh areas. Mr. Sharma said he got 125 kg of wild mushroom on Tuesday while on Monday he got 70 kg. He said the stock at his shop got over by noon.

Prices of vegetables were higher than usual.

David D’Souza, a retail merchant at the market, told The Hindu that in the retail market beans cost between Rs. 50 and Rs. 56 a kg on Tuesday. The price of cowpea ranged between Rs. 44 to Rs. 46 a kg while the price of carrot was Rs. 48 a kg. The prices of green chilli and green palak were at Rs. 30 and Rs. 50 a kg respectively.

Mr. D’Souza said when compared to April and May, the prices of beetroot, cabbage, raddish, and chow chow had come down by Rs. 5 a kg. Beetroot was priced at Rs. 45 a kg, cabbage Rs. 25 a kg, raddish Rs. 25 a kg, and chow chow Rs. 25 a kg. The cheapest vegetables available now was probably onion which cost Rs. 10 a kg and ‘sambar southe’ (cucumber used for making sambar) which costs Rs. 8 a kg, Mr. D’Souza said.

He said that locally grown vegetables were not available now. They would arrive in August. This was one of the factors for the price rise.

M. Mustafa Kunhi, president, Central Market Merchants Association, told The Hindu that as there was ban on deep sea fishing now, non-vegetarians had begun consuming vegetables as quality fish was not available. It had also resulted in prices going up.

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