People feel the pinch as prices of essentials go up 

CHENNAI: With the ever increasing prices of edible oil and pulses and other commodities, the savings of the common man has taken a hit. Or in other words, people are finding it difficult to meet their ends. Will this price rise impact elections in the State?

AM Vikramaraja, State president of the Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu, highlights that palm oil prices have crept up from Rs 60 a litre to Rs 140. Even groundnut oil prices have risen by Rs 40 a litre in the past one month, he says.

Traders attribute this price rise to increasing oil prices in the international market. Saravanan, a sunflower oil trader, says that the price of sunflower oil rose from Rs 90 last year to Rs 155 now, due to failure of the crop. “There was also labour shortage, and oil mills are not running to its full capacity yet, despite an increase in demand,” he says, while defending the price hike.

The production of sunflower oil has dipped from 52,000 metric tonnes to 20,000 to 25,000 metric tonnes, says Saravanan. He adds that it is unlikely that the prices would come down, and said that it is likely to go up by another Rs 15 to Rs 20.

R Punnaiappan, secretary of the Chennai Koyambedu Foodgrains Wholesale Merchants Association told Express that prices of pulses, too, have shot up by 10 to 20 per cent. Tur dal, which cost Rs 87 a kg, is now costlier by about Rs 13. Similarly, urad dal prices have gone up from `100 to `110. Interestingly, in the retail market, the dal is priced at Rs 150 per kg.

Similar is the case with red chillies as well. Last season, the commodity was priced at Rs 120 per kg in Ramanathapuram, and now, Punnaiappan says, it is in the range of Rs 320 to Rs 360. Traders also blame the non-seasonal rains for this price rise. “It was harvest time and such heavy rains were not expected,” says Punnaiappan.

Meanwhile, Vikramaraja says it is the rising fuel and cylinder prices, and the hike in toll gate charges, that are, in turn, taking a toll.  Things are not so hunky dory closer home. Bharati, a homemaker, says that the increasing prices are inversely proportional to the salary her husband brings home every month. “My husband’s salary has been cut by Rs 10,000. Now with a limited income, I have to manage my child’s school fee, and on top of it, I have to buy essential commodities like edible oil and pulses,” she says.