Vegetable vendors and wholesalers in the city expect the prices are to rise further in the days to come.
Wholesalers said supply of vegetables coming to Pune from within the district and other districts like Nashik and Solapur has gone down. “The rain has destroyed hectares of cultivated farmland,” Sachin Paigude, a wholesaler said, adding that prices of vegetables have nearly doubled since last week.
“Okra and brinjal sold for Rs40 a kilo in the wholesale market last week. It has increased to Rs70 per kilo this week. The wholesale prices of coriander, spinach and fenugreek have gone up to Rs25 to Rs30 a bundle,” Paigude said.
Deepak Khatal, a commission agent at Market Yard, predicted a significant rise in prices of leafy vegetables, particularly coriander and fenugreek, in the next few days.
City-based working professional Shivani Joshi observed that the prices of French bean, potatoes and leafy greens to have shot up in the past one week.
“The prices of not just potatoes, but also onions have increased by Rs10 per kilo in the wholesale market,” Raju Korpe, an onion and potato wholesaler at Market Yard, said.
Residents said the high prices often don’t match the quality of the vegetables.
“The leafy greens are soggy and rot much faster. Likewise, the onions, tomatoes and other vegetables are also not of great quality. I hope better vegetables arrive soon, but even vendors are not optimistic,” Radhika Jain, a homemaker said.
Vilas Bhujbal, a wholesaler, said apart from the rains, accumulated water too was playing havoc with the crops. “About 50% of the supply coming into the market is of extremely poor quality. This pushes up prices of the better quality produce. The prices are likely to rise further,” Bhujbal said.
Datta Kalamkar, head of vegetables division at Gultekdi Market Yard, said the rainfall has completely upended the demand-supply equation. “Acres of vegetables in the harvesting stage have been damaged badly,” Kalamkar said.
(With inputs from Sandip Dighe)
