Skyrocketing vegetable and fruit prices hit consumers

New Delhi: The latest jump in Consumer Price Index is pinching consumers due to increasing prices of vegetables and fruits in the market.

It was expected that prices of fruits and vegetables would come down after the hot summer season. However, prices have doubled, putting the buyers in worry.

Tomato and Okra prices have increased drastically. At present, Tomato is being sold at Rs 30 to Rs 40 and good quality Okra price has crossed Rs 25 per kg. The average price of every vegetable in the wholesale market is Rs 22 per kg.

Citing heavy rainfall as the major reason for skyrocketing vegetable prices, Naim, a Delhi-based vegetable seller said supply of vegetables has come down from 100 per cent to 70 per cent.

"Customers nowadays are buying fewer vegetables as the prices have gone up in the recent days due to torrential rainfall in the nearby areas. This adversely affected our customer base, " said Naim who sells vegetables at Delhi's Okhla Mandi.

Another seller from Ahmedabad blamed the government for the slump in supply of the vegetables in the market. He was of the view that authorities are not allowing trucks to ply on the border for security reasons due to the upcoming Jagannath Rath Yatra from July 14-22. In Chandigarh, the situation, however, did not seem to be so gloomy.

Speaking to ANI, one of the vegetable sellers identified as Vinod Sharma said that the prices have come down in the recent days as the flow of the food coming from the nearby hilly regions have increased.

Agreeing to Sharma's point of view, Girish Sharma, a buyer from Chandigarh also asserted that the prices of the vegetables would come down as the rainfall in the region has decreased.

On July 12, the CPI inflation rose to a five-month high of 5.0 per cent in June 2018 when compared to 4.87 per cent in May and 1.46 per cent in June 2017. The core CPI inflation rose to 6.45 per cent.

Various estimates suggest that the Government decision to hike the minimum support price (MSP) of 14 Kharif (summer sowed) crops will too impact CPI inflation by 50-100 bps.