The prices of vegetables in Chittoor district, rising steadily for a couple of days, touched roof on Wednesday with even the tomatoes and onions of substandard quality costing ₹60 a kg. Usually, the price of onions(A1 quality) hovers around ₹30 a kg while the same quantity and quality of tomatoes cost ₹20-₹25 a kg in the district.
With the prices beyond the purchasing power of a common man, there were no takers for the vegetables on the festival day.
Chittoor district makes a phenomenal contribution to the domestic supply of vegetables, including tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, several gourds and beans, thanks to the congenial climate in the western mandals.
The good rains since June initially presented an air of hope among the people that the prices of vegetables would be under control. But their hopes were soon dashed, as the galloping prices of the petrol and diesel prices had a debilitating effect on the transport of vegetables.
There has been no respite in prices of onions and tomatoes since last month. Even those that are of poor quality are being sold at high prices.
“Previously (before the petrol price rage), we used to sell the third quality vegetables at minimum profits in towns. The situation was different when the petrol was below ₹100. Now, with the price inching closer to ₹120 a litre, we have no option but to hike the prices of vegetables. The price changes further when it reaches the retailer. We are helpless,” says Manikanta, a vegetable supplier to the eastern mandals of Chittoor.
Vegetable merchants in Chittoor said that it was evident that the purchasing power of the middle-class and the poorer sections had come down post the COVID pandemic.
“These days, some vegetables have become a luxury to the common man. We try to dispose of the perishable stocks with minimum profits. Still, large stocks are getting damaged every day. Yesterday’s profits are today’s loss. Tomorrow is uncertain,” a senior merchant said.
Lakshmi, a homemaker of SBI Colony in Puttur, said that during the last two months, several households had limited their dishes to dal, rasam and curd, giving secondary importance to vegetables. “The consumption of onions and tomatoes is gradually coming down. Cauliflower and carrot are now a luxury. Even the green leaves price has also doubled,” she said.
