The poor rainfall this year and the recent rise in temperature have caused vegetable prices to increase, traders at the Vashi Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) have said. This week, vegetables were selling for an average 40% more than usual, they said.
“The rainfall was poor and the heat is immense. As a result, the crop yield was low, while the demand for vegetables is rising,” Kailash Tajne, president of the APMC market, said.
Ramdas Pavle, a wholesale trader in the market, said that during the ongoing festival season, people prefer vegetarian food, which pushes up the demand for vegetables. “Every year, we see a rise in prices at this time, but this year it is very high,” Mr. Pavle said. On a usual day, around 600 trucks of vegetables are supplied to the market. But since Monday, the supply has gone down to 500 trucks, he said.
Cluster beans ( gawar ), which were selling for ₹32 to ₹34 per kg till last week, are now ₹40 per kg. Okra ( bhindi ), which was priced between ₹28 and ₹30 per kg last week, now costs ₹36 per kg, while the price of French beans ( farasbi ) has gone up from ₹28 to ₹30 to nearly ₹50 per kg. Brinjal, which was available for ₹16 to ₹18 is now selling at ₹20 to ₹22, while the price of tomatoes has gone up to ₹12 per kg from ₹8. Green peas, which were priced at ₹100 per kg, now cost ₹160, while capsicum, bitter gourd and bottle gourd prices have gone up to ₹16 from ₹10. Leafy vegetable prices have risen by about ₹5 per bundle.
Traders said the price rise will continue till December.
