KOLKATA: Two successive lockdowns, supply-line issues and the possibility of a heavy rain in the next couple of days pushed up the prices of perishables on Saturday. Worse, the expected downpour may make vegetables even dearer over the next few days.
On Saturday, markets got crowded with people rushing out to the markets after exhausting their stock over the last two days. But they were shocked to find that there was hardly any vegetable below Rs 50 a kg. Even before the lockdown, most of the vegetables were selling at Rs 25-30 a kg. Price of chillies has shot up to Rs 250 a kg yet again. Tomato, which was selling at Rs 30-40 a kg, jumped to Rs 80-90 a kg on Saturday.
“Saturday’s market prices proved a major shocker for most of us. Prices of some vegetables suddenly jumped 100%. I just came to pick up some vegetables but I have already exceeded my day’s budget. Yet, my bag is half empty,” said Sunirmal Nag, a teacher at a private college who goes to Jadubabu’s Bazar at Bhowanipore.
The situation may worsen if the rain is heavier than usual over the next two days. “With the Met department warning of more than natural rainfall in south Bengal, the damage to standing crop in the field is inevitable. This would result in further spike in prices, with the widening of demand-supply gap,” said Kamal Dey, president of the West Bengal Vendors’ Association.
According to retailers, the supply-line has also suffered a huge setback. The supply of vegetables to wholesale markets was disrupted and so was the supply from the wholesale to retail markets. “Haats could not be held, where would wholesalers get their bulk supply from?” asked a wholesaler at Koley Market.
The impact on the retail market was immediate. Demand-supply mismatch added to woes. “Two successive lockdown days hit the supply chain badly. There is hardly any vegetable in the market. Moreover, thanks to Ganesh Chaturthi, the demand is on the higher side,” said Gour Saha, a vegetable vendor at Barisha bazar.
Ganesh Chaturthi has also resulted in an unnatural spike in the fruit market. Prices of most of the fruits spiralled abnormally, said Samar Das, a fruit vendor at Lake Market. However, fruit prices are expected to dip since the supply has been stable.
“We hope the supply chain issues will be resolved in the next few days. If rain remains moderate, the prices are likely to dip,” said Dey, also a state market task force member.
On Saturday, markets got crowded with people rushing out to the markets after exhausting their stock over the last two days. But they were shocked to find that there was hardly any vegetable below Rs 50 a kg. Even before the lockdown, most of the vegetables were selling at Rs 25-30 a kg. Price of chillies has shot up to Rs 250 a kg yet again. Tomato, which was selling at Rs 30-40 a kg, jumped to Rs 80-90 a kg on Saturday.
“Saturday’s market prices proved a major shocker for most of us. Prices of some vegetables suddenly jumped 100%. I just came to pick up some vegetables but I have already exceeded my day’s budget. Yet, my bag is half empty,” said Sunirmal Nag, a teacher at a private college who goes to Jadubabu’s Bazar at Bhowanipore.
The situation may worsen if the rain is heavier than usual over the next two days. “With the Met department warning of more than natural rainfall in south Bengal, the damage to standing crop in the field is inevitable. This would result in further spike in prices, with the widening of demand-supply gap,” said Kamal Dey, president of the West Bengal Vendors’ Association.
According to retailers, the supply-line has also suffered a huge setback. The supply of vegetables to wholesale markets was disrupted and so was the supply from the wholesale to retail markets. “Haats could not be held, where would wholesalers get their bulk supply from?” asked a wholesaler at Koley Market.
The impact on the retail market was immediate. Demand-supply mismatch added to woes. “Two successive lockdown days hit the supply chain badly. There is hardly any vegetable in the market. Moreover, thanks to Ganesh Chaturthi, the demand is on the higher side,” said Gour Saha, a vegetable vendor at Barisha bazar.
Ganesh Chaturthi has also resulted in an unnatural spike in the fruit market. Prices of most of the fruits spiralled abnormally, said Samar Das, a fruit vendor at Lake Market. However, fruit prices are expected to dip since the supply has been stable.
“We hope the supply chain issues will be resolved in the next few days. If rain remains moderate, the prices are likely to dip,” said Dey, also a state market task force member.
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