The vegetable prices in the national Capital as well as 30 odd cities across the country have started sky rocketing as these prices have almost doubled in the retail market. The wholesale prices of tomato, cabbage, cauliflower increases by at least 60 per cent the moment it reached the vendors in the residential colonies, creating a hole in the pocket of the ordinary citizen.
This means, retailers are selling vegetables at double price to consumers. The law enforcing agencies in the national Capital as well as all other cities have remained mute spectator to this phenomenon which is impacting each household across the country. The rise in price is due to the shortfall of vegetable production and incessant rain across the country.
Taking the case of onion, the whole sale price is between Rs30-35 per kg and it is being sold at retail market between Rs50-60 depending on the colonies. According to an ASSOCHAM report, it is not only the onion which is tearing apart the household budget, there are others in the vegetable basket punching holes in the common woman’s pockets. tomato prices, for instance, have seen an increase in prices, as much as 61 per cent in the hybrid variety and 55 per cent in the local variety in the wholesale mandis. likewise, chilly has become hotter with prices shooting up by 39.5 per cent and brinjal long by 36.8 in these mandis. In the same period, prices of garlic went up by 28.5 per cent, onion by 23.1 per cent, cabbage by 19 per cent and okra by 11 per cent.
When asked, onion trader and former Azadpur Mandi chairman Rajendra Sharma said that vegetables become costly in monsoon season due to short supply or rainy weather. According to Sharma, the gap between whole sale and retail should not be more than 30 percent that include transportation and other charges. “There is no check on retail vendors across the country, that’s why food items become costly or almost double as compared to wholesale prices,” Sharma said adding here comes the role of Government agencies by making effective market intervention through imports, check on hoardings and reducing the turnaround time.
“What is worrying is that on top of sharp increase in the vegetable prices, there is a huge gap between the wholesale mandis and the retail levels, which clearly point towards urgent need for plugging the supply chain loop holes. Certainly the advantage of price increase is not going to the producers,” ASSOCHAM Secretary General DS Rawat said.