A sudden spike in prices of most vegetables this summer has upset household budgets in the city.
This May, Chennai’s markets seem to be facing a shortage as 40-50 per cent of the produce from across the State and neighbouring Karnataka are being diverted to drought-hit states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Beans is one of the costliest vegetables with the price hitting Rs.120 per kg in the Koyambedu wholesale market. The cost of some of the vegetables, including carrots, green chillies, broad beans and tomatoes, has almost doubled in the past one month.
Traders note the cost of vegetables escalates every summer. But, this month, the impact of spiralling prices is felt as arrivals from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other parts of Tamil Nadu have considerably reduced.
Residents have cut down on the size of their purchases to fit vegetables in their budget. They said some vegetables like beans were priced at Rs.150-Rs.160 per kg in the retail market. Many residents said they avoided buying some vegetables that were priced high.
S. Chandran, president of Koyambedu Wholesale Vegetable Merchants Association, said some of the vegetables that had become costlier included broad beans, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage and green chillies. Lemons that came for Rs.3 each were in high demand.
However, prices of some vegetables such as onions, potatoes and ladies fingers have remained stable, bringing some relief to the residents.
Following a drop in arrivals to the Koyambedu wholesale market, sales have also dipped by 50 per cent over the past few days. The market receives 400 truckloads of vegetables every day against its usual share of 550-600 truckloads.
Wholesale traders said the market was also witnessing low footfall due to restrictions on cash transactions as the code of conduct was in force and retail traders hesitated to make big purchases. Prices were set to remain high for a few more weeks, they added.
Traders plan to stock less from Saturday as the Koyambedu wholesale market will remain closed on May 16 for the Assembly election.
