KOLKATA: The demand-supply gap of perishables continue to broaden and has resulted in price rise across the retail markets. To make it worse, diesel, which runs goods vehicles, once again saw a price hike on Friday. In the last one year
diesel price has gone up by Rs 25 per litre. The damage of standing crops — because of the flood — causing distress sale at rural haat and trickling supply to city retail markets, portrays a contrasting story.
“The vegetables are not reaching the haat from where wholesalers source their merchandise. Middlemen are buying them at cheap prices from farmers and selling to retailers at a premium,” said Kamal Dey, president,
West Bengal Vendors’ Association
and member of the Market Task Force of the Bengal government. Prices of vegetables like eggplant (brinjal), cauliflower, drumsticks, bitter gourd, pointed gourd, ash gourd have shot through the roof. The brinjal was sold at Rs70 a kg, drumsticks at Rs120 on Friday. The okra which was selling at Rs20 a kg a few days ago is now selling at Rs50 a kg. “We have a little option but to consume greater proportion of potato,” said Gaurab Ghosh, an insurance agent. “People are buying smaller quantities as the vegetables from inundated fields cannot be preserved. Vendors too are not buying large quantity as they don’t want to run the risk of a stockpile of unsold vegetables,” said Gopal Sonkar, a wholesaler.
Transportation cost too has jumped. “Goods vehicle from Basirhat to
Koley Market
are now demanding Rs 4000 for one-way trip,” said Ghanashyam Das, another wholesaler.
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