CHENNAI: Indhumathi (name changed), a daily wager and resident of Chindatripet, has seen her family’s monthly expenditure on groceries increase from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 over the past few months. So she began becoming frugal and buying less each month.

In addition to the prices of tomatoes which skyrocketed to Rs 100 per kg, prices of essential items have also spiked due to shortage in supply. Intense rainfall during the summer has damaged crops.

“Prices of essential commodities have increased drastically in the last 3 years. Though we try to be economical, the day-to-day expenses continue to rise, and we’re unable to manage with our livelihoods. We spend at least Rs 5,000 on vegetables and grocery items every month. This leaves us with just Rs 3,000 for the rest of the month. Our quality of life has been adversely affected ever since the pandemic struck. And now, it’s worse,” lamented Indhumathi.

Prices of grocery items including rice, dhal, garlic, red chillies and ginger have surged in the past two months due to a shortage in supply as heavy rain impacted crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states. Additionally, the recent spell worsened the situation by damaging the recently sowed crops.

This impacts wholesale prices, which in-turn spike retail prices. It leads to less consumption on the whole and a reduction in the buying capacity of wholesale traders who only purchase two-thirds of the essential items.

“The average summer spell should be around 2 cm of rainfall, but this year more rainfall has been recorded from Kanniyakumari to Telangana which affected the crops, especially pulses. It has also delayed the newly-sowed crop cultivation in TN and other states that supply essential goods to Chennai. There is shortage of rice, toor dhal, red chillies, and garlic that comes from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. It resulted in a sharp rise in prices,” explained R Punniappan, secretary, Koyambedu Food and Grains Wholesale Market.

This situation has severely impacted the lower-middle class families, and the businesses of small and roadside eatery shops in the city. The latter is unable to raise the rates of food items or reduce the quantity of products served.

“People with low income mostly auto drivers and staff from textile shops in the area eat here, as it’s pocket-friendly. If we increase the price, they would visit the nearby shops that sell at cheaper rates. We cannot afford to lose our business,” rued V Balu, who has been running a roadside eatery shop in Pondy Bazaar for several years.

Without compromising on the quantity of essential commodities, he has been selling the breakfast, tea, and snacks at the same price for over two years. “In the last 8 years, prices of grocery and gas cylinder have increased drastically. Earlier, we purchased palm oil for Rs 38 per kg, and now it has surged to Rs 100. Similarly, a gas cylinder for commercial use was Rs 550, whereas now, we spend nearly Rs 2,000,” he added.

However, oil rates remained stable for the last few months, as there was no interruption in supply. But for many months in 2022, supply was hit due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Sunflower oil was sold for Rs 175 per kg in April 2022.

“Supply had marginally increased in December 2022 which dipped the price to Rs 139 per kg. Now, a kilo of sunflower oil is sold for Rs 93 in wholesale,” observed T Chandrasekharan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Oil and Seeds Association in George Town.

Traders said that oil prices were returning to the old margin (from 3 years ago), where a kilo of sunflower oil was sold for Rs 96 and palm oil Rs 84.