As mercury level dips, veggie prices turn too hot to handle

As the mercury level dips in Bengaluru, vegetable prices have become too hot to handle. Tomatoes and drumsticks seem to be the priciest of the lot.

The price of tomatoes has shot up to ₹80 per kilo, and industry insiders said it would not be a surprise if it breached the ₹100 per kg mark. A kilo of drumsticks that used to be sold in the range of ₹200 was now being sold at ₹350 due to extreme shortage of the vegetable in the market.

“Excessive rains have damaged tomato crop in the Kolar belt, the largest producer of tomatoes in South India. While the arrivals at Kolar APMC have reduced by almost 50%, there has been extensive crop damage in Maharashtra, another big producer. Tomatoes from Kolar are also being sent to Maharashtra, from where it is supplied across North India. This has led to inflated prices,” explained Trimurti, a trader at Kolar APMC.

Meanwhile, with no arrivals from Gujarat and Rajasthan, there is a severe scarcity of drumsticks in the market. “What little is coming, is coming from Tamil Nadu. The price has shot up to ₹350. But it is not a staple vegetable, and people are not buying it at such high prices,” said a procurement officer for a reputed grocery chain in Bengaluru.

Onion prices crash

On the other hand, the prices of onions have crashed. “Rains and moisture in the air have made the onions wet, which leads to early spoiling and sprouting,” said Ravi Shankar, an onion trader at Yeshwantpur APMC yard.

“Farmers in Challakere and Maharashtra had harvested the crop and stored it expecting a good price. These onions are relatively better, but they are also infested by fungus due to the dampness. But farmers in Belagavi and Bagalkot don’t seem to have harvested it at the right time. They have become very wet and spoilt,” he said.

While good quality onions have a good rate in the range of ₹25 to ₹35, they account for less than 30% of onions in the market. The rest are wet onions and were being traded at as low as ₹5 to ₹10 in the wholesale market.

“Even if you are ready to pay a good price, good quality onions are hard to get,” Mr. Shankar said.

Usually, vegetable prices are relatively on the higher side during winters in Bengaluru. But this is usually balanced by the flood of avarekai this season but that has also not happened this season.

“By the first week of December, avarekai should have taken over the markets, and this will have lead to fall in demand for other vegetables, bringing their prices down. Since, avarekai is also hit this year, the prices of other vegetables are also high,” the procurement official of a retail grocery chain said.

While the price of beans is around ₹80 to ₹110, the prices of most other vegetables are also on the higher side, and they are expected to climb down only with avarekai taking over.