Chittoor district woke up to an explosion in the prices of vegetables on Wednesday, even as the last-grade tomato and onion were priced at ₹60 per kg. With prices beyond the purchasing power of a common man, there were no buyers for vegetables on the day of the festival.
Chittoor district makes an unprecedented contribution to the domestic supply of vegetables including tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, many gourds and beans, thanks to the favorable climate in the western divisions.
Good rains since June initially gave people hope that vegetable prices would be under control. But their hopes were soon dashed, as the spurt in petrol and diesel prices hit the transportation of vegetables.
There has been no respite in the prices of onions and tomatoes since last month. Those which are of poor quality are also being sold at high prices.
“Earlier (before the petrol price rage), we used to sell third quality vegetables at minimum profits in cities. The situation was different when petrol was below ₹100. Now, with the price hovering close to Rs 120 per litre, we have no option but to hike the prices of vegetables. The price changes further when it reaches the retailer. We are helpless,” says Manikanth, a vegetable supplier for Chittoor’s eastern mandals.
Vegetable traders from Chittoor said that it is clear that the purchasing power of the middle class and poor section had reduced after the COVID pandemic. He said, “Nowadays some vegetables have become a luxury of the common man. We try to dispose of the perishable stock with minimum profits. Still, large stocks are getting damaged every day. Yesterday’s gain is today’s loss. Tomorrow is uncertain,” said a senior trader.
Lakshmi, a housewife from SBI Colony in Puttur, said that during the last two months, many families had limited their dishes to dal, rasam and curd, giving secondary importance to vegetables. “The consumption of onions and tomatoes is gradually coming down. Cauliflower and carrots are now a luxury. Even the price of green leaves has doubled.
.