Ever since the government announced Unlock 1.0, vegetables' supply and demand along with their prices have increased. According to the rate list of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) of Azadpur Mandi here, the wholesale prices of tomatoes have increased by two and a half times while the prices of potatoes, onions and other green vegetables have also increased.
The traders here said that after restaurants, dhabas, canteens and eateries have opened, the demand for vegetables has increased by almost 20 per cent. Due to the increase in the wholesale demand for vegetables, their retail prices have gone up.
As per the rate list, two weeks ago the average wholesale price of tomatoes was Rs 3 per kg while on Wednesday it was Rs 6 per kg. Though the minimum wholesale price of tomatoes here remained unchanged at Rs 1.25 per kg the maximum wholesale price increased from Rs 4.75 per kg to Rs 18 per kg, a hike of 279 per cent in two weeks.
The minimum wholesale price of onion was Rs 2.50 per kg while the maximum was Rs 8.75 per kg on June 3, which increased to Rs 4 and Rs 11.50 per kg, respectively. The average retail price of onion has also increased by about 36 per cent from Rs 6.25 to Rs 8.50 per kg.
The minimum wholesale price of potato increased from Rs 6 to Rs Rs 8 per kg while the maximum wholesale price increased from Rs 18 to Rs 21 per kg. The average wholesale price of potato increased from Rs 14.50 to Rs 15.75 per kg in the last 15 days.
The increase in the wholesale price has resulted in the increase of the retail price also. In Delhi-NCR, the retail price of onion has gone up to Rs 25-30 from Rs 20 per kg while tomatoes were being sold at Rs 30-35 per kg. The retail prices of all green vegetables have increased by Rs 5-10 per kg.
Chamber of Azadpur Fruits and Vegetables Association President M.R. Kripalani said though the demand for fruits and vegetables has increased in the last few days, it is still less than the supply.
The demand for vegetables and fruits had come down due to which the prices had also come down drastically, so the farmers were not getting a fair price for their produce, but now they would get a fair price as the demand is expected to increase further, he said.
( With inputs from IANS )