High veggie prices force locals to shop at fair-price centres

NO RESPITE After onions and tomatoes, prices of cauliflowers, french beans and peas have risen over the last week; traders blame the shortage of supply

NAVI MUMBAI: Just when Navi Mumbaiites finished readjusting their monthly budgets to cope with the rise in prices of onions and tomatoes, there is more bad news in store. Prices of other vegetables such as cauliflowers, french beans, gavar and green peas have also risen substantially over the last week, forcing many to buy their weekly stock from fair-price centres.

According to traders at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee ( APMC), Vashi, a shortage in supply of vegetables was responsible for the rise in prices.

“There has been a substantial fall in the supply of tomatoes from places such as Nashik, Satara, Solapur and Sangli, which used to be the main suppliers of the vegetable. Although the supply from Gujarat had risen, untimely rainfall in the state has again reduced supply,” said a tomato trader from the market.

As against the daily supply of 75 vehicles of an average of nine tonnes each, tomato arrivals at the Vashi APMC market have fallen to 50 vehicles a day. “With Gujarat purchasing tomatoes from Maharashtra, the trade patterns have been reversed,” said Avinash Patil, deputy secretary of APMC, Vashi.

In fact, prices of other vegetables have also been affected because of the demand-supply mismatch.

“Even potato prices have gone up by Rs3 to Rs5 since there is not adequate supply from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, among others. However, onion prices are expected to reduce within 10 days, as soon as the new crop arrives,” said Ashok Walunj, director of APMC.

For residents, the only way to cope with this additional rise in prices is to buy vegetables from the government’s fair price shops where vegetables are sold at 30-50% lower rates.

Sumedha Singh, a resident of Nerul, is one such consumer who has been heading to the fair-price centre in Nerul for the last two months. “Ingredients such as tomatoes and onions are an integral part of our diet and we can’t compromise on it. After their high prices hit our monthly budget, I have started buying vegetables from fairprice centres,” she said.

Many others suggested that the government promote the fair-price centres as not many people were aware of it.

“These centres should also bring the costlier vegetables in larger quantities to cater to more people,” said Riddhi Joshi, a resident of Kharghar.

“Even we are facing a shortage considering the fluctuating supply at APMC,” said a sales person from Sahakar Bazar in Airoli, one of the fair-price centres in the city.