Himachal Pradesh: Vegetable prices shoot up in Shimla, household budget affected

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 5 : Heavy rains that disrupted the supply chain caused vegetable prices to soar in Shimla, making it difficult for the local population to pay for household expenses.

"The prices are very high; the prices of cauliflower and pumpkins have also now increased very high. The prices of tomatoes have gone drastically very high. The government should look at the poor people and do something for them to control vegetable prices. It is becoming tough for us to buy vegetables," said Babli Salotra, a local resident.

Due to the very small difference between wholesale and retail prices, the rising cost of labour, and the fact that some vegetables are being sold at par on a no-profit, no-loss basis, local fruit and vegetable vendors are also struggling to make ends meet.

"The tomato supply is very less and the wholesale prices are going up to 90 rupees per kilogram and it is going 100 rupees a kg in the retail market so the trader is getting nothing from this expenditure cost. The prices of Capsicum have also increased. The demand is very high in the neighbouring state of Punjab. The cauliflower is 80 to 90kg in the wholesale market. There is no business profit for us, it is almost equal," said Babu Ram, a local vegetable seller.

The increasing prices of tomatoes and cauliflower have disturbed the budget of the kitchens of the common people in the region.

"Vegetable prices have increased significantly over the last 15 days. A month ago, the price of ginger was 100 rupees per kg; today, it is 300kg. In just 15 days, cauliflower prices have multiplied. It is getting harder. For survival, we used to buy vegetables for Rs 100, but now it's hard to buy them for Rs 200. For the poor, things have drastically changed, according to Raj Kumar, another local resident.

This year there has been heavy rainfall. Most of the crops have been damaged and supply is very low. There has been continuous rain, the supply is very low, and the demand is the same.

"The vegetable is supplied to other parts of India from Himachal. If the rain continues the prices will continue increasing," said Amit Sood, a local vegetable trader.

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