05 May,2015 12:48 PM IST | | Ankoor Anvekar
Prices of chilli, tomato, lady’s finger, cauliflower, carrot and gawar are already inching up; the recent hike in fuel prices is also expected to impact prices in the fruit market
Brace yourself for a bigger hole in your pocket. Traders at the APMC market have revealed that in the coming days, prices of vegetables might go up by 15-20 per cent. Production getting halved this summer due to paucity of water and the recent hike in fuel prices have dealt a double whammy to vegetable prices.
The vegetable market at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. File pic
Prices of a few vegetables have been inching up over the past few weeks, with chilli touching R80 per kg in the retail market. Compared to last week, wholesale prices of a few vegetables including tomato, lady's finger, cauliflower, carrot and gawar have witnessed fluctuations.
Ramdas Pawle, a trader at the APMC vegetable market told mid-day, "The hike in fuel prices will increase the transportation cost and the hike would be passed on to supplies coming to the market. Reduced production in the summer season will also have an impact on the rates."
Due to scarcity of water, the production of vegetables in the state has been around 50 per cent less in the summer season, traders added, ensuring that the demand and supply scenario will remain tight during this season. "From the past four days, prices have gone up by a few rupees every day and they would keep on increasing till the time the monsoon season starts.
We are expecting a 15-20 per cent price rise in coming weeks," said Sridhar, another APMC trader. The hike in prices has left homemakers worried about their monthly budgets. Jyoti Pawar, a resident of Belapur said, "Nothing is coming cheap nowadays. Prices of all commodities are increasing daily.
Keeping a fixed budget for essential commodities, including vegetables, has become next to impossible as prices fluctuate every now and then." Meanwhile, traders from the fruit market also hinted at a price hike due to cost escalation caused by the fuel hike. "The fruit market will not witness the impact of fuel rise immediately. However, fruits will become dearer by a few more rupees in the coming weeks," said fruit trader Balkrishna Shinde.
