With the arrivals at the Koyambedu wholesale vegetable market dipping since the past few days, the cost of many vegetables has escalated by 30-40 percent, forcing consumers to be frugal in their purchases.
Different varieties of tomatoes, which were priced around Rs.15 until recently, now cost around Rs.24 a kg. Traders attributed the price hike to less crop yield and depletion of water resources during summer. The Koyambedu market, which normally receives 60 truckloads of tomatoes daily, got only 45 lorries from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Thursday.
The hike has meant cut in the budget for vegetables in many households. P. Sunitha, a resident of Choolaimedu, said: “I buy more quantity of vegetables that are relatively cheaper. I cannot decrease purchase of tomatoes as I use them daily. I have started growing greens and vegetables at home to supplement my needs.”
Some of the hotels too have started replacing cheaper vegetables to fit in the meal price.
According to S. Chandran, a wholesale trader, the cost of most vegetables increases every summer owing to the gap between demand and supply. Even affordable ones such as cabbage are priced around Rs.10 a kg in the wholesale market. Beans, sourced from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh and from Karnataka, are also priced high at the wholesale market as the yield has decreased by half, they said.
Carrots, brinjals and ladies fingers are out of the reach of most people. However, the prices of onions and potatoes remain stable, providing some solace to the consumers.
The prices of vegetables are higher by at least Rs. 5 a kg in the retail market. Vendors said this was essential to cover increasing labour and transportation charges. “Many customers now think twice before buying a kg of vegetables and expect the prices to drop. We cannot afford to give curry or coriander leaves free of cost to regular customers as they are also expensive,” a vendor said.
