Pricey vegetables hit household budget in Odisha's Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: Even as Silk City, worn down by its battle with Covid-19, is limping back to normalcy, rise in price of vegetables has hit its residents hard. 

Initially, the prices of commodities like sugar, rice, wheat and pulses went up due to short supply. Now, prices of almost all vegetables are hovering around Rs  60 per kg.

The price of tomato, which was Rs  25-30 a month back, has shot up to Rs  60 per kg. Similarly the price of ladyfinger has doubled from Rs  30 per kg to Rs  60 per kg.

Onion at Rs  50 per kg and potato at Rs  35 per kg are the cheapest in the city’s markets.  

Susant Sahu, a vegetable vendor said the prices will remain unchanged for the another fortnight. Sandhya Padhy, a housewife said even as vegetables of all varieties are available in the markets, they have become costly and this has affected household budgets during these trying times.

The price rise can be attributed to reduction in supply from South Indian states. The city is receiving 5-8 truckloads of vegetables daily against 20-25 a few days back.

In Jajpur, rise in price of potato and onion has brought tears to consumers. While potato is priced at Rs  35 per kg in the district, onion is being sold for Rs  50 per kg. The rise in price of the commodities, used extensively in Indian kitchens has affected locals.

Sangram Keshari Jena, a consumer said he used to buy 5 kg potato and 2 kg onion for his family in a week. Owing to price rise, he now buys 3 kg potato and one kg onion per week.

“Even if I have cut down on the quantity, it still affects my household budget,” he said. Traders have attributed the price hike to unavailability of stock in the market due to decrease in import of onion from Nashik in Maharashtra and potato from neighbouring West Bengal.