Vegetable prices leave city in a stew

NEW DELHI: Vegetable prices have gone up in the city over the past two days. Heavy rainfall in the region has severely affected the crop and has impacted the supply of vegetables.
People in most localities are paying almost 50 per cent to two-times the prices on commonly available vegetables. Green vegetables are the worst hit in the market.
Confirmed Rajinder Sharma, chairman of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC),‘‘Rainfall during the last week, which has been the heaviest in recent years, has led to this sudden rise.’’ APMC, a Delhi government body monitors the vegetable supply and prices in the city.
Prices of most perishable vegetables have shot up. ‘‘Flooding in these fields also spoils a substantial part of the produce. This also affects the produce sharply and has led to the steep increase in prices,’’ he said.
Okra (bhindi) is being sold at Rs 24, again a quantum jump from Rs 16 per kg last week. Almost 85 per cent of Delhi’s vegetable requirement comes from adjoining villages in western UP, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Himachal. Delhi government has pressed the panic button as it called for a meeting of traders and APMC officials on Thursday to ‘‘stabilise the situation’’.
Said Food and Civil Supplies minister Haroon Yusuf: ‘‘The prices have shot up by about 40 per cent after the rains, as most roads to the Capital have been damaged and the trucks are unable to reach the city with the supply.’’ He admitted that an increase of 20-40 per cent at the whole-seller’s end has led to the local vegetable vendors charging almost twice last week’s price.
Azadpur vegetable merchant association president, Surinder Kohli said: ‘‘The situation is very bad. The number of vegetable-laden trucks and tempos coming to the mandi has sharply gone down.’’ For instance, ‘‘Over 40 trucks used to come from Barwa Sagar in UP every day.
Now the number is down to eight.’’However, the minister said this was a ‘‘temporary situation’’. Prices of potatoes and onions in the wholesale market haven’t gone up.