Veggie prices to stay down till Feb

Short-Term Relief: Buyers make most of dip in prices thanks to surplus produce from Guj, MP, report Tasneem Nashrulla & Megha Pol.

Sunita Shah (57), a homemaker from Khar can go back to making aloo mutter (a curry of potato and green peas) for her family.

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As prices of green peas registered a much-awaited drop, Shah can now include the vegetable in her menu again.

“They were so expensive. Almost Rs 60-80 for one kg,” said Shah. “This week, its prices have drastically dropped to Rs 25-30 per kg.”

Vegetables are costing less these days because surplus produce from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka is coming into Maharashtra.

Mumbaiites are paying less and eating more and can continue to do so at least for a couple of months. Wholesalers expect the drop in prices to continue to until February.

“Most vegetables come to Maharashtra from neighbouring states and post monsoon, the produce in these areas increases thus increasing the influx of vegetables in our markets during winter,” said Sanjay Karande, a wholesaler from the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market, Vashi.

“This drop in prices may continue until February and then there may be a hike in prices again.”

Shah, who purchases her vegetables from Khar market twice a week, noticed a marked reduction in the prices of carrots and potatoes, and greens like methi and spinach. “The difference in my total bill as compared to the past weeks can buy me almost an entire kilogram of any vegetable,” she said. “If I paid a total of Rs 100 for a one-time purchase, I now pay Rs 75.”

The market has abundant supply of vegetables like carrot, brinjal, capsicum, cauliflower, beans and cucumber. The prices of these vegetables have gone down by 2 to 3 per cent.

Prakash More, another wholesaler from APMC said the drop in prices is a short-term phenomenon. “People normally go out of Mumbai for Christmas or New Year. Thus, prices are usually low around this time of the year. I think they will rise again in January.”

For couples like 24-year-old stylist Jignasa and her 33-year-old husband, filmmaker Nitin Shingal, even this short-term relief is welcome because the Lokhandwala couple can enjoy eating out again.

“Our weekly fruit and vegetable bill used to touch Rs 900, which was twice what we used to spend,” said Jignasa. “Since the past week it has reduced to Rs 600-650.”

Wholesalers said prices of rice, wheat and chana daal are steady but the price of the Kolam variety of rice may drop by next week or so as supply in winter increases.