Over the past week, the prices of green vegetables have risen by around 200 per cent to 300 per cent in city's retail market, forcing households to stretch their monthly budgets. Most green vegetables are being sold at over Rs 60 per kg in the retail market.
Prices of most vegetables have quadrupled. Green peas is available at Rs 160 per kg in the retail market while cauliflower is being sold at Rs 120 per kg. Reportedly, the reason behind this hike is the 40 per cent drop recorded for the last two days in the arrival of green vegetables in the agriculture produce market committee (APMC) at Vashi.
The supply of green vegetables in wholesale as well as in retail markets has been severely affected due to shortage of supply from neighbouring districts in Maharashtra. The shortfall is due to heavy rainfall in vegetable cultivation areas of Maharashtra. Supply of vegetables from Nashik and Pune has come down sharply and the two sources usually account for a major chunk of supply to meet the demand of green vegetables in the city.
Shankar Pingle, director of vegetable market in APMC said, "The unexpected heavy rainfall in some vegetable growing areas of the state has affected the crops, and thus the supply has been affected."
He added that it will take time for fresh crops to hit the market.
The average supply of vegetables in the wholesale market at APMC is around 650 trucks loaded with green vegetables. "In the last few days, the supply has come down to 400 to 430 trucks, a deficit of around 40 per cent," added Pingle.
Meanwhile, traders claimed that retail price rise needs to be controlled. The wholesale price of flower was Rs 35 per kg on Friday, but it was sold at Rs 120 per kg in retail. "The price impact in retail is seen more compared to the wholesale market. Even with the current supply, there should not be such a price rise in the retail market," said a trader.
"Winter is knocking on the door, and this is the time for green vegetables to be priced low. But due to price rise, we have to start depending on soya beans and other staples instead of green vegetables," said Summi Sinha, a resident of Dadar.
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Shankar Pingle, director of vegetable market in APMC said, "The unexpected heavy rainfall in some vegetable growing areas of the state has affected the crops, and thus the supply has been affected."
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