Vegetable prices go up in Chandigarh, respite ahead

With change in weather, the vegetable prices are expected to come down in the coming days, say apni mandi officials in Chandigarh

With the recent rain spells, prices of vegetables have soared at apni mandis in Chandigarh. However, with change in weather, the prices are expected to come down in the coming days.

With the recent rain spells, vegetable prices have soared at apni mandis in Chandigarh.

“While light rain in January is good for the crops, when there is heavy rain and fast winds, crops get damaged,” says Harpreet Singh, who is a mandi supervisor with the Punjab Mandi Board. “Vegetables like green chillies have got damaged, leading to limited supply and increase in their prices.”

Green chillies were available for ₹60 per kilogram on February 7, as compared to ₹50 three weeks back. Though even the potato crop was damaged due to rain, its price remains unchanged at ₹15 per kilogram.

Even tomatoes are available at the same price of ₹40 per kilogram, but the price of another staple vegetable onion has seen a rise from ₹35 to ₹40 in the past three weeks.

According to Singh, the onion prices have gone up owing to issues in transportation. It has also led to a rise of around ₹20 per kg in prices of apples coming to the city from Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, rain spells have also led to a rise in prices of cauliflower, from ₹40 to ₹50. According to mandi officials, the prices are likely to come down as weather improves further in the region.