Vegetable prices soar in Thiruvananthapuram

Fruit prices have also increased due to their scarcity during the off-season.
Representational Image.
Representational Image.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vegetable prices have touched a new high in the capital. Tomatoes, shallots, garlic, beans and ginger have seen a considerable hike in rates during the past two weeks.

A major reason is poor production owing to the bad weather in Tamil Nadu and tin the state. "Against an order for 30 sacks, we get only around 10 these days,” said Rajan, a retailer in the Palayam market. The price of tomatoes saw a threefold rise during the past couple of weeks. It doubled from I20 to I40 last week, and increased by I20 this week, pushing it to I60 per kilo. Shallot rates also increased from I30 to I70 in the past week.

Ginger sales appear to be in jeopardy due to the sudden hike in price from I150 to I200 a week ago and peaking at I240 on Friday. “Due to the hike, no one wants to buy ginger,” says Nandu, a street vendor at Palayam market. Another item which showed a similar rise is coriander leaves, which went up from I35 in February to I210 last week.

Other vegetables which saw a similar price hike in the past two weeks include beans from I50 to I60 per kg and cabbage from I20 to I50.

Fruit prices have also increased due to their scarcity during the off-season. 'Rasakadali' bananas are priced at I90 per kilo, and is likely to increase in the coming days.

The price of apples increased by I40 in two weeks to I200 per kilo. However, the orange and mango sales have not been affected. Potato, carrot and small onion prices were relatively stable in the last month.
Tirunelveli, Madurai, Mysuru, Hosur and Ooty are some of the major distributors of fruit and vegetable markets. Apart from them, Wayanad and Ernakulam are also big suppliers within the state.

Fruits also affected
Fruit prices have also increased due to their scarcity during the off-season. 'Rasakadali' bananas are priced at H90 per kilo, The price of apples increased by H40 in two weeks to I200 per kilo

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