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Vegetable prices up 500%

Soaring prices of veggies make undhiyu rare delight.

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Traditionally, winter is considered to be the vegetable season and even hard-core non-veg foodies indulge in vegetarian delights owing to its availability in plenty and cheaper rates. However, this February, the story line is different as greens seem to get be getting hotter with soaring mercury levels! With hot prices scalding not just the palate, but burning a huge hole in their pockets, city's homemakers are being forced to rewrite their menus and budgets. Compared to last year, prices of seasonal vegetables like brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and beetroot have shot through the roof and increased from double to five times high this year.

The difference in prices for the two years is shocking. Brinjal, all three types - regular, round and small - have seen tremendous hike in prices ranging from 455% to 528% hike in one year. On February 8, 2012 brinjal was priced at Rs1,100 per quintal which was priced at Rs175 per quintal on the same day last year at Sardar Patel Market in Jamalpur. Not only brinjal, other winter special veggies like cabbage and cauliflower, have seen rise of Rs400 and Rs200 per quintal, respectively.

However, garlic, potato and onion prices offered some solace to 'price-pinched' homemakers. Dry garlic has witnessed a dip of Rs9,250 per quintal in one year, followed by green turmeric and dry onion with Rs2,000 and Rs650, respectively. Potato prices have also gone down in range of Rs225 to Rs87 per quintal.

While traders and market experts blame impact of global warming on production as a reason for price hike, some others also blame high transportation cost, labour scarcity, costly fertiliser and realty price around Ahmedabad for high vegetable prices.

The season started late which has affected the yield negatively. "Demand for fresh green vegetables remain high during winter season, however, supply has gone down. Last year, we used to receive around 60,000 kg of brinjal, which has gone down to around 40,000 kg this year," said Ashok Shah, a commission agent at Sardar Patel Market in Jamalpur.    

Another commission agent, Nilesh Patel said that vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal and couple of others are in great demand because production of vegetables like lady's finger and bitter gourd have gone down drastically due to cold weather.

"Some of the vegetables earlier came to city from the surrounding villages. However, soaring realty prices in those areas have discouraged farmers for agricultural activities and they have sold their agri land resulting in lower sowing area," lamented Dipak Patel, in-charge secretary of Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), Ahmedabad. He further said that transportation cost, which has gone up by nearly 20% in a year, has added to the price rise.

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