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Tomato rates in Chandigarh rise twofold within a week
Prices of other vegetables have also gone up after the recent 13-day-long spell of severe cold weather in the region.
CHANDIGARH Household budgets that had just started to stabilise with onion prices showing a downward trend, have gone awry once again with tomato rates doubling within a week in Chandigarh.
Not just tomatoes, prices of other vegetables have also gone up after the recent 13-day-long spell of severe cold weather in the region.
“Vegetables need some sunlight to grow. However, with dense fog engulfing the region for two weeks, frost started forming and destroyed the crop,” said apni mandi president Parlad Singh. Singh said tomatoes were the worst-affected, which is why their prices increased the most.
“Weather has improved now, and it would take a week of sunny days for the veggie supply to replenish and prices to come down,” he said.
Meanwhile, Punjab mandi board officials said supply was running low because of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh as well.
While supply of veggies, such as cauliflower and tomatoes, has stopped from the hill state, even the supply to Chandigarh from Punjab has been hit as some of it is being diverted to Himachal Pradesh, said an official.
ONION PRICES SET TO FALL FURTHER
Meanwhile, onion prices have come down, though they are still dear.
Consumers have to shell out ₹55 per kg for the imported onions from Afghanistan and Turkey, while the Indian variety is available for ₹80 per kg.
According to officials at the vegetable market in Sector 26, wholesale prices of onion have fallen to ₹50-55 from ₹65-70 for the Indian crop and to ₹35-40 from ₹40-45 for the imported variety within a couple of days.
Further drop in prices is likely next week.
“Onions from Maharashtra will reach the city next week, and would take another three to four days to reach markets in the city,” said an official of the UT department of food and supplies, consumer affairs and legal metrology.
