Vegetables, fruits, milk prices on the rise as Mumbai battles shortage

Prices of vegetables and fruits have also been hiked. For example, a kg of tomato, priced at ₹50 on Tuesday is now ₹80

With heavy rainfall flooding various parts of the state in the past few days, the city is facing a shortage of vegetables, fruits and milk, which in turn has led to a considerable hike in prices of these items.

With heavy rainfall flooding various parts of the state in the past few days, the city is facing a shortage of vegetables, fruits and milk (HT File (Representative Image))

Vendors said they have not been able to transport vegetables, fruits or milk as roads are waterlogged. “We supply seven lakh litres milk to Mumbai and three lakh to Pune. This has come to standstill as the roads from Kolhapur are all closed,” said D V Ghanekar, managing director, the Kolhapur Zilla Dudh Utpadak Sangha or Gokul, one of the major suppliers for Mumbai. Currently, milk available in Mumbai has come from Karnataka and Gujarat.

Prices of vegetables and fruits have also been hiked. For example, a kg of tomato, priced at ₹50 on Tuesday is now ₹80; a kg of green peas now costs ₹160 as against ₹100; a kg of pomegranates costs ₹120 from ₹100; and a kg of brinjal is ₹80 as against ₹60. According to Sanjay Pansare, former director, Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), the number of trucks transporting vegetables and fruits to APMC has dropped considerably. “We used to get 300 trucks daily, which has decreased to 200. Trucks from Kolhapur, Sangli and other flood-affected areas have stopped coming completely,” said Pansare.

Ramesh Jaiswal, a vegetable-seller in Parel, said they are helpless as wholesale traders have increased the rates.“The prices have shot up considerably making it very difficult for an average family to survive,” said Shaikh Imtiyaz, a Kurla resident.