PRICE SURGE IN GREENS, CITY SEES RED

Shutdown of main market in Jamalpur, rise in fuel prices and irregular supply of vegetables has forced citizens to shell out more

By Rhea Lodhiya

As ‘Lockdowns’ and ‘Unlocks’ sent our lives into an upheaval, fruits and vegetables also witnessed ups and downs when it came to prices. Now, veggies have taken the ‘pricey’ route once again.

For instance, prices of tomatoes in the city as well as capital city Gandhinagar have gone from Rs 40 to Rs 100 and steadied at Rs 60-Rs 80 (per kg). Similarly, rates of ginger have gone up to Rs 120/kg as recently as last week. Earlier, one could buy ginger at Rs 80 for a kg.

The humble cauliflower that was earlier available for Rs 80/kg, now sits pretty at the top of the table costing double at Rs 160/kg, along with fenugreek (methi) leaves and cowpea (chauli). Green bell peppers that were sold at Rs 80/kg in May, are now available for Rs 120/kg, same with veggies including ridge gourd (turiya), tomatoes and carrots; the latter cost Rs 50 earlier.

The prices vary in different areas. The causes have been attributed to “decreasing shelf life” owing to climate change, and the “rise in diesel prices”.

Shravan Prajapati, a retail vegetable vendor in Prahladnagar said, “There has been a steep price surge in vegetables including tomatoes, cowpea, cauliflowers, ridge gourd and fenugreek. The primary causes seem to be decreasing shelf-life and rising diesel prices due to rains.”

Aretail vendor in Shyamal, Hitesh Gupta pinpoints “divide in supply” as one of the primary reasons for price hike. “I think the primary cause is that our supply has been divided. Jamalpur is the main market where the supply would come from. With that shut (until July 15), vegetable supply is currently brought in from Bodakdev, SG Highway, SP Ring Road, ST stand and sometimes, from outside Jamalpur market. This has led to an increase in transportation and labour costs.”



Prakash Modi, a vendor in Satellite, said, “It is common for prices of certain vegetables to rise in monsoon owing to the decreasing shelf life of the vegetables. For instance, you would see an increase in the price of spinach as it gets spoiled easily. Besides, there is no steep rise in the price of diesel which would make a huge difference in the vegetable prices. Moreover, the shutting down of Jamalpur market hasn’t affected me as I get the vegetables from a distant village.”

Ketan Patel, a wholesaler from Ahmedabad Vegetable General Commission Agents Association, says change in diesel prices haven’t made a huge impact on the prices.

“About 70- 80 per cent of the produce comes from local farmers from within 100km. Hence, there hasn’t been a difference of more than 30 per cent in the prices. Besides, the Jetalpur market is open.”

Yet another price hike, that too, during a pandemic has left citizens in a sticky situation. Daksha Vyas, a homemaker from Gota, has been making weekly visits to the vegetable market. “There is at least a difference of Rs 15 in the price of vegetables. I have also witnessed that prices of veggies keep fluctuating almost every other day. If one is buying for the whole week, the total amount would see a difference.

“Besides, rates at markets, shops and handcarts vary. On questioning, vendors say it because of the quality of produce. Besides, in monsoon, greens go bad quickly, so it is not always possible to stock up, and our market visits have also increased due to this.”