Vegetable prices further increase by 15 percent in Koyambedu wholesale market

Traders said that the vegetable supply from Tamil Nadu has also decreased during the past few days, and the prices are expected to remain the same at least for a month.

“Last week, due to supply shortage the vegetable prices increased by 30 per cent, and now it has again hiked by 15 per cent. More than 25 per cent of the supply is impacted for the past 20 days from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Even vegetable supply from Tamil Nadu is affected from various districts including Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli due to crop damage,” said P Sukumaran, Treasurer, Koyambedu Wholesale Merchants’ Association.

The market is receiving only 250 to 280 vegetable loads against its usual supply of over 450 truckloads. Traders said that the prices of vegetables will again increase in the coming days, as heavy rains are predicted and the supply would be impacted.

“Even if the supply gets normalized, the prices are expected to remain stable. It would take at least a month for the vegetable rates to come down. On the other hand, the sale is quite dull due to the rainfall, as many areas are waterlogged where people are stuck and they are purchasing from the nearby retail shops, who are selling 20 per cent extra than the wholesale price,” said S Muthukumar, a trader at Koyambedu market.

Currently, tomatoes are sold for Rs 110 per kg, onions Rs 35 to Rs 45 per kg, beans Rs 60 per kg, broad beans Rs 60 to Rs 80 per kg, carrots Rs 40 to Rs 50 per kg, brinjal Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kg, ladies finger Rs 70 to Rs 80 per kg and the others such as beetroot, cabbage, and chow chow are sold for Rs 30 per kg.