Eating out to get expensive as commercial LPG price soars in Coimbatore

Coimbatore: Dosa, poori and chapati, among other dishes, are set to become a luxury with the restaurateurs and street vendors gearing up to increase the prices of these common man's food items to offset the impact of a sharp surge in commercial LPG cylinder price, which has sent shockwaves through the food industry in the district.While a 19kg commercial cylinder was previously priced in the range of Rs1,845-Rs2,100, a nationwide increase of Rs993 has now pushed up the rates anywhere between Rs2,838 and Rs3,200. This price hike has unsettled many small-scale food operators. And some restaurateurs and street vendors are mulling to either hike prices or drastically prune their menus to stay afloat.P Mohammed Yasir, a restaurant owner at Kottaimedu, described the situation as critical. To mitigate losses, his establishment has limited deep-fried items to curb fuel consumption. "We hiked the price of biryani only by Rs20 to Rs180, fearing that any further increase will drive customers away. While we temporarily stopped serving our signature parottas, we had to resume serving the same due to customer demand."Yasir said he had lost nearly 10% of daily customers to the price revisions over the past two months.The impact is most visible among street vendors, who operate on razor-thin margins. D Rajalakshmi, a vendor at Ganapathy, said the prices of plain dosa and masala dosa, which typically range from Rs30 to Rs60, are expected to go up by Rs30. "This is our only livelihood. We were forced to close for a month when the cylinder prices peaked at Rs7,000 in the black market. While the rates have stabilized slightly, we fear a massive decline in footfall."However, larger bakeries by and large remain unaffected by the price hike. R Ponnusamy, president, Coimbatore District Bakery Owners' Welfare Association, said many of them had transitioned to electrical equipment. "However, smaller snack shops selling vadas and bondas are cutting production hours by 50% to save fuel rather than risking price hikes that could alienate their regular clientele."