Along with relief from heat, the rain on Sunday brought with it hope that the prices of kitchen staples would come down.
Officials of the agricultural produce market committees and local vendors said they hoped the sales volume would pick up in the days to come. “Prices of most vegetables will come down now that it has started raining,” said Shivaji Pahinkar, secretary of agricultural produce market committee (APMC) Vashi, Mumbai.
Mr. Pahinkar said that vegetables planted in March will be harvested in mid-July and fresh plantations will be undertaken during the monsoon. He said that rain in other parts of the country will also bring down prices of staples such as green chillies, sourced from Karnataka, which are being sold for as much as Rs. 150 a kilogram in the city’s retail markets.
Household budgets have gone for a toss with vegetable prices going through the roof. Tomato prices have remained sky-high for over a week, between Rs. 100 and Rs. 120 per kilogramme having gone up from Rs. 40 to Rs. 45 in the beginning of this month. While there has been some relief with onion prices dropping considerably, green vegetables have become a luxury of sorts with cluster beans selling for as much as Rs. 160 and the humble okra at Rs. 80 a kilogramme.
“We can’t stop eating these vegetables, but high prices are forcing me to cut down their consumption. I can’t spend Rs. 100 to buy a kilogram of tomato, so I buy half a kilogramme or lesser,” said Adagadu Ambarle, a security guard.
Ramji Maharaj, who runs a mess in a hostel at Mumbai Central, said, “Tomatoes are the key ingredient in most of the dishes. So I can’t avoid using them. This rise in prices has disturbed my whole year’s budget.”
Traders said the rise in prices has only brought down the demand by a small 5 per cent to 10 per cent, which has ensured that prices remain high.
“Our sale has gone down. People are avoiding these expensive vegetables, but the demand is steady. Prices are also lowering slowly. With the monsoon picking up, prices will be normal,” said wholesaler Mohammed Ali.
