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Residents feel the pinch as vegetable prices soar
As per traders, ginger is now selling at ₹250 per kg, potato at ₹25- ₹30 per kg, and chillies at ₹200 per kg.
LUCKNOW In the past month, prices of several vegetables -- like coriander, tomato, ginger, and chillies, among others -- have skyrocketed in the state capital. As a consequence, kitchen budgets of several households have gone haywire. The price rise is also forcing people to change their food habits.
While tomato prices have witnessed the sharpest increase, brinjal and cauliflower are also not far behind. In the wholesale market, tomatoes are selling at ₹900 per 5 kg. Similarly, coriander is selling at ₹30 per 100 grams.
As per traders, ginger is now selling at ₹250 per kg, potato at ₹25- ₹30 per kg, and chillies at ₹200 per kg. Likewise, brinjal, which was earlier selling at ₹40 per kg, is now being sold at ₹120 per kg.
“Instead of tomato puree, we are now using mango pickle (aam khatai),” said Meera Yadav, a city-based homemaker. Another city resident, Ashi Chaurasia, said, “We have limited the use of ginger and coriander.” Others too echo their sentiment and say the prices are going beyond a middle-class household’s reach.
According to Manoj Yadav, a vegetable vendor in Alambagh Mandi, the price hike is an outcome of the yield of local farms being affected due to early rains. The price of tomatoes soared after floods in Himachal Pradesh, he added.
Another vegetable trader, Mushtaq, said the recent hike could be because of a combination of factors. “The rain spells followed by intense heatwave again followed by intermittent rainfall in recent days has disrupted the vegetable supply chain. The erratic supply chain from the vegetable growing districts has created shortages in the market. This has resulted in the surge in prices of vegetables in the state capital,” he added.
Tinku Sonkar, a wholesaler at Dubagga Mandi, said, “Transportation and logistical obstacles due to rain spells have also contributed to the surge in the cost of vegetables.”
