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Monsoon mayhem in hills to drive up vegetable prices in Chandigarh
Among other vegetables, the supply of tomatoes will be worst affected and the kitchen staple, which is already being sold at ₹80 per kg in apni mandis, may become dearer for consumers
Amid the spate of flash floods and landslides across Himachal Pradesh, the vegetable supply from the hill state to Chandigarh has started getting erratic, which can soon shoot up prices in the local apni mandis.
Among other vegetables, the supply of tomatoes will be worst affected and the kitchen staple, which is already being sold at ₹80 per kg in apni mandis, may become dearer for consumers.
Tomato prices soared to ₹80 per kg at the city’s apni mandis last week, marking a significant increase from ₹30 per kg on June 21, ₹60 per kg on July 3 and ₹70 on July 17. Consumers are really feeling the pinch, as the vegetable is even being sold for over ₹100 per kg at retail shops and roadside carts.
The steep rise in prices is attributed to inclement weather conditions that have disrupted local tomato production in Punjab. With local supply severely impacted, the apni mandis in Chandigarh are presently dependent on neighbouring states to meet the demand.
Speaking about this, Harpreet Singh, a supervisor of Punjab Mandi Board in Chandigarh, said, “The production of locally grown tomatoes gets adversely affected due to increase in temperature and untimely rains. Generally, our local production continues till July end, but due to rains in the region, it has now stopped. When this happens, we import tomatoes from hilly areas, especially Himachal Pradesh, leading to a steep spike in rates. While no significant rise has been witnessed due to landslides and floods as of now, but if the situation becomes worse, especially near Shimla, erratic supply will shoot up prices.”
Due to floods and sudden blockade on Chandigarh-Himachal Pradesh highways due to landslides last year, tomatoes prices had soared to an all-time high of ₹250 per kg on July 11 at apni mandis and ₹300 per kg at retail shops/vendors.
In 2022, the highest that the price of tomatoes had gone at the apni mandis was around ₹60 per kg. In November 2021, it had climbed to ₹90 per kg, but still had not touched the three-digit mark.
Besides tomatoes, the local mandis are also dependent on Himachal Pradesh for peas, potatoes, seedless cucumber and cauliflower. The prices of these vegetables have also started seeing a rise with peas being sold at ₹140 per kg, cauliflower at ₹80 per kg and potatoes at ₹45 per kg.
