Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association has claimed that spiralling price of vegetables may force them to increase the price of food items. “Price instability and artificial rise in the prices of vegetables like big onion have hit the hotel industry badly,” said G. Jayapal, general secretary of the association, on Tuesday.
He claimed that big onion was selling around ₹100 a kg, the price having gone up from the level of around ₹18 and ₹20 a fortnight ago. There was a big role played by brokers who bought up the vegetable in large quantities and hoarded it to be sold for a premium, Mr. Jayapal said.
It was virtually impossible to do without big onion as most curries required large quantities of the vegetable. “A medium-sized hotel in the city incurs an extra expenditure ranging between ₹2,500 and ₹3,000 on account of the rise in the price of big onion alone, he said. Together with the price of vegetables, the cost of cooking gas also goes up every month,” he added.
Govt. intervention sought
There are around 4,200 hoteliers who are members of the association in Kochi and its suburbs. They have demanded that artificial scarcity of key vegetables like big onions must end and that government agencies like Horticorp must intervene to stabilise prices.
In the meanwhile, vegetable prices have continued to remain at high levels in the city markets. According to the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) price list, small onion was selling at ₹72 a kg while big onion was selling at ₹70 a kg. The price of tomato and potato, items of everyday use, were selling at ₹34 and ₹30 a kg respectively. Ginger price is up at ₹135 a kg and drumsticks are selling at ₹220 a kg.
