Prices of veggies, fruits and flowers head north

KOCHI: This

Vishu

, the prices of vegetables, fruits and flowers has shot up. The price of the kanikonna flowers, an integral part of Vishukani ritual, has shot up from Rs10 to Rs 30 as there is shortage due to summer rains, while that of kani vellari (golden coloured cucumber) has gone up from Rs 20 to Rs 40 per kg.

“The shortage of kanikonna has resulted in a steep rise in the price level. Earlier, a bunch of kanikonna flowers were soldfor Rs10but now it has shot up to Rs 30,” said

Sugunan

, a flower vendor.

Vegetable vendors said that they didn’t get sufficient kani vellaris this time, which has resulted in the steep rise in the price.

“Earlier around 30 to 40 tonnes of kani vellari used to arrive at the market. But this time we only got around 10 tonnes, which is not sufficient enough to meet the demand during Vishu,” saidK K

Ashraf

, vice– president of

Ernakulam

market stall owners’ assosciation.

Shabeer, a vegetable vendor at the market, said that until last month, the price of kani vellari was somewhere between Rs15 and Rs 20. “The pricesbegan toshootup since last month. We mainly procure kani vellari from places like

Manjeri

and Thrissur but this time there was a scarcity because not many farmers are into cultivation of vellari,” said Shabeer.

The surging price of kani vellari evoked mixed response from people, who came to buy the vegetable. “Kani vellari is an important item in Vishu kani. Kani without vellari will be more or less inauspicious. We don’t want to spoil the New Year by replacing itwith another vegetable. Moreover, we mostly buy Kani vellari’s during Vishu, so we don’t mind even if it’s going to cost a bit higher,” said Usha, a homemaker.

Apart from kani vellari, the price of snake gourd, pumpkin and bitter gourd have shot up from Rs 20 to Rs

30. The price of tender jackfruit (idi chakka) is around Rs 40 per kg.

“Nenthran (banana) is now being sold for Rs 60 to 70 per kg while njalipoovan costs around Rs 50 per kg,” said Hamsa, a wholesale vendor at Ernakulam Market.

Meanwhile price of shallots, beans and carrot have cooled down compared to previous months. “Earlier the price of shallots touched Rs 90 per kg. But now the prices have come down to Rs 30 per kg. The price of onions, carrots and beans earlier was Rs 70 per kg, which have now dipped to Rs 25 per kg,” said Hamsa, a vendor at Ernakulam market.

The prices of fruits, including mangoes, pineapple, lemons and grapes have also surged. “The price of apples has shot up from Rs 120 to Rs 130 per kg. The price of grapes, ripe mangoes, has gone up Rs 70 to Rs 90,” said Subair, a fruit vendor.