Soaring veggie prices dampen festive spirit

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 21

Already battered by Covid, soaring vegetable prices have burnt holes in the pockets of common man in the undergoing festival season.

The prices of potato, onions, tomatoes, peas, cauliflower, beans, bottle gourd, coriander, okra, arbi (colocasia) and bitter gourd witnessed an upward trend.

With reduced income, residents are finding it difficult to manage the kitchen. A visit to the vegetable market revealed that the price of tomatoes is Rs 40 to Rs 60 per kg. Capsicum, which used to be sold at Rs 150 per kg, is now being sold at Rs 100 per kg. Similarly, gourd and bottle gourd, each are now being sold at Rs 50 per kg, which was earlier available at about Rs 30 per kg. The price of raddish has also increased from Rs 20 to 40 per kg and beans are being sold at Rs 80 per kg.

The price of lady finger has increased from Rs 30 to Rs 60 per kg. Garlic is being sold at Rs 200 per kg and ginger at Rs 100 per kg. Swati Mahajan, a housewife, said high vegetable prices has already stretched the kitchen budget which was another blow to the families grappling with after effects of Covid-19 and lockdown. She added that on one hand, income had fallen down and on the other, expenses were rising.

Charanjit Singh Batra, President of the Fruit and Vegetable Merchants Union, said the prices of vegetables would come down once the winter vegetables, grown in the region, would land in mandi. He added that the rate of cauliflower came down after the crop started arriving from the Dera Baba Nanak area. Earlier, it was being procured from Himachal Pradesh.

He said the price of onion was in control as its harvest was arriving from Maharashtra and Afghanistan.