Veggie prices dip below 30/kg, season’s lowest

Kolkata: With most vegetables selling at Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kilogram, there is some relief for kitchen budgets in Kolkata. According to experts, this is the season's lowest-ever pricing.

The price of potato dropped to Rs 15/kg and onion to Rs 30/kg, with another sharp dip expected in the next few weeks once Bengal onion starts to hit the markets, replacing the Nasik ones. Experts believe the end of the festive season and no weather-related hindrances finally led to the drop. Consumers will hopefully enjoy these rates until the end of Feb, before summer sets in.


Kamal Dey, member of the agricultural marketing task force, said the drop in prices was because of the unhindered supply of fresh local vegetables from the adjacent districts of Kolkata. "The long spell of winter chill had hampered the vegetable supply chain, which was later regularised," said Dey, who also believes that the dip in demand after Makar Sankranti and Saraswati Puja was also a contributing factor for the price drop.

Broad beans from Nadia and North 24 Parganas, and locally produced carrots, cabbages and spinach from South 24 Parganas, were all priced between Rs 25 and Rs 30 per kilogram, helping to make a significant cut in kitchen budgets. "We include different vegetable platters nowadays in our everyday menus," said Soumitra Das, a resident of Lake Gardens.

"Local tomatoes and good-quality brinjal prices are record low this season. I recently bought both vegetables at Rs 25/kg from Bowbazar market," said Sujit Saha, a businessman from central Kolkata. Hybrid brinjal from Nadia, weighing around 500 gm, recorded high yield this year in Bengal.

Initially, there was a hiccup with tomato prices, as there was hardly any local supply of tomatoes and the market was completely dependent on supply from Karnataka. Due to this, even at the end of Dec, the tomato price was steadily high at Rs 55 to Rs 60 per kilogram. "This year, tomatoes from Purulia failed to hit Kolkata's market due to bad yield, but sufficient supply from South 24 Parganas led to the reduced pricing," said Rabindranath Koley, a member of the agricultural marketing task force.

Green peas, too, witnessed a sharp price fall in recent times, selling as low as Rs 25/kg, with enough supply from adjacent Nadia and Hooghly districts. "We have koraishutir kochuri (fried bread with a mild and sweet green peas stuffing) quite often for the breakfast now," said Padma Mazumdar, a homemaker and senior citizen from Bhowanipur. "Within a fortnight or so, the price of Bengal onions will dip more once the supply hits Kolkata's market and replaces Nasik onion," added Dey.