On Monday, the day before Pongal, markets across the city witnessed brisk sales of vegetables, flowers and groceries. Hawkers set up shops at many spots since early in the morning.
While buyers complained of increase in prices, hawkers, particularly those who sold turmeric, flowers, and banana leaves, opined that they were unlikely to make any profit because of fall in prices. N. Mahalakshmi, who left her two children at home in Sholavandan and came to set up a shop at Anna Nagar at four on Monday morning, said she had made moderate sales till afternoon.
“I am selling turmeric for ₹ 10 and koorai poo for ₹ 5. However, public are bargaining even on that price. If I do not sell all these goods by tonight, I just need to dump them,” she said.
R. Kanthammal, a woman from Pannaikudi, who was hawking at Anna Nagar, said that she bought a bundle of banana leaves for ₹ 700 from Mattuthavani.
“Though I am selling a small bundle of five leaves for ₹ 15, there are not many buyers,” she said.
N. Thiruvengadam, a buyer from Tahsildar Nagar, said that they end up bargaining since the goods were not worth the money. “They are not fresh. I will probably come back in the evening as the prices are likely to drop further,” he said.
Jasmine
Meanwhile, the price of jasmine touched a high of ₹ 2,500 a kg as the day began but steadily came down to ₹1,000 by evening. The flower which finds its way into most homes during festival season, is sold at usually high rates during the early months of January, said N. Jegatheesan, president, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “December and January is off-season because of less production due to chill weather,” he said.
“By February, prices will drop to ₹ 300 to ₹ 200 and at least 12 or 15 tonnes of jasmine will arrive each day. This year, only 500 kg arrived,” he said.
S. Ramachandran, president of a flower sellers’ association, said the vendors did raise price by about ₹ 10 a feet of jasmine to make the most of the festival rush.
Most of the places in the city witnessed heavy traffic because of a large number of people doing last minute Pongal shopping on crowded streets amid hawkers.