Incessant rainfall in the State has resulted in the hike in vegetable prices. The demand for staple vegetables like potatoes and onions has exceeded their supply which has caused their prices to soar.
The damage to road links in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand has affected the income of farmers and fruit growers in areas like Uttarkashi where potato and apple yields rotted as they could not be supplied to the market. “The inflow of vegetables has decreased by about 20-25 per cent. Due to consistent rainfall, the supply of vegetables from mountainous areas has almost stopped. The supply of potatoes from UP and Punjab has increased thus, leading to stability in prices of potatoes.
Although there is a slight increase in the prices of onions, the prices of other vegetables are now stable,” says the Niranjanpur wholesale market committee secretary VP Thapliyal. The major supply of vegetables and fruits to Dehradun is from states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
The price of onions in the Niranjanpur mandi here is Rs 18 to 22 per kg, depending on the size while the retail price of onions has soared as high as Rs 50 -60 per kg. The prices of onions are speculated to remain high during the next few days. It should be noted here that the wholesale price of other vegetables is Rs 9-17 per kg for tomatoes, Rs 9-11 per kg for brinjal, Rs 8-13 per kg for potatoes and Rs 7-11 for bitter gourd.
The prices of these vegetables are speculated to remain stable during the next few days. The retail prices of other vegetables such as French beans have soared high to Rs 40 per kg and that of carrots is Rs 60 per kg in the market. The rise in vegetable prices has further affected the budget of the common people who are already facing the brunt of hike in petrol and diesel prices.