MP: Ahead of Diwali, veggie prices zoom past lockdown rates, sales dip too

BHOPAL: On Sunday afternoon, a person stops by a vegetable vendor in Gulmohar and asks for the price of brinjal (baigan). And the vendor’s reply: “Rs 15 per 250 gram. The customer did not bother to inquire about the prices of other vegetables. “Brinjal was sold for Rs 30 a kg even during lockdown period. Why buy now at Rs 60 per kg in winter when the rates are usually low,” he said before leaving.
A few metres away, another customer asked for price of potatos. The middle-aged customer shrugged at the reply: “Rs 60 for the fresh potatoes and Rs 80 for the old ones.” The customer walked away without saying anything.
Even as winter, known as the season of vegetables and fruits, has arrived, the prices of vegetables has refused to cool. Fluctuation of prices is another inexplicable phenomenon being witnessed in the city ever since lockdown.
“Today, when you are asking for price of tomato and he said Rs 40, you feel happy because it is cheaper than even baigan or gilki but in a day or two, it may be selling for Rs 80 per kg and if you ask for the reason, they have a handy excuse, ‘saheb maal nahin aa raha’ (We are not getting enough quantity of stock),” said Uday Sharma, a teacher.
“The administration must have some mechanism to control prices. You can’t leave it to market forces all the time particularly in a situation of pandemic. Following the lockdown, there is no control on prices and traders feel at liberty to sell at a price they decide,” said Niharika, who had come to Bittan Market for buying vegetables.
General secretary of Bhopal Kirana Mahasangh, Anupam Agrawal, said one major factor for rising prices of dal has been costly vegetables. “A kg of dal and a kg of any vegetable are being retailed for more or less the same price. As such, many are preferring dal than vegetable. When the prices of vegetables come down, you will see dal prices going down slightly. As of now, prices of dal are stable between Rs 80 to Rs 120 per kg,” he added.
He further said that changes in the Essential Commodities Act, whereby stock limit on potato, onion, edible oil and pulses has been scrapped, also had its impact in jacking up prices of potatoes, onions and also pulses. “You can see, the ceiling was imposed again after onion and potato prices hit the roof,” he said.
President, Bittan Market Sabji Vyapari Mahasangh, Hariom Khatik, however, said that wholesale prices of vegetables have come down considerably, but if they are costly in retail, it's because the weekly haat system of Bhopal, which kept a check on retail prices of vegetables has got ‘disturbed’ following the lockdown. “Potato and onions are still priced high but all vegetables are not that costly now. There are no weekly haats and the number of vendors have also multiplied manifold, creating a situation where prices of vegetables at two different places of the city are different,” he said.