Prices of Vegetables Continues to Shoot Up During Festival Season

 

Yesterday I went to purchase fruits & vegetable after a long time. I was really shocked to see the prices of vegetables, fruits and flowers shoot up sky high. Further it was Varamahalakshmi festival on Friday & market saw tremendous increase in prices of vegetable, fruits and flowers, causing inconvenience to the common man.

Prices of some commonly consumed vegetables such as tomato, potato; cauliflower and cabbage have gone up by two folds during this festival season. If prices continue increasing, urban life will be more difficult.

Every time there is a rise in the prices of agriculture products, there is much public outcry on the inefficiency of the governments, whom we all love to blame. But this time the Government is not responsible in the increase of vegetable prices.

According to the reliable sources, the steep increase in prices is a case of concern as wholesale cost of the items remains pretty much the same. The supply of commodities too is sufficient. The wholesale merchants blamed the retailers for the increase in prices.

Even the Shopping Malls and retailers sell commodities with cent percent profit margins because People panic when a festival approaches and buy fruits and vegetables in huge stocks much before the festival. This is another reason of increases the demand and hence the prices go up.

Another well known fact is the middle men are the actual beneficiaries, while the farmers who actually produce the vegetables are the worst sufferers. The concerned Government authorities have to better understand that the question, how much price escalation happens at each level and why?

Further the massive decline in production of vegetables across the country is a major factor behind the skyrocketing prices. Due to long spell of droughts, prices of vegetable items have gone up tremendously throughout the country.

It is interesting to note that India's annual food inflation rose to 12.81 percent for the week ended July 3, while the overall inflation stood at 10.55 percent in June.

Following are the rise and fall in prices of some of the main commodities that form the sub-index for food articles over the past 52 weeks.

Cereals: 5.87 percent Rice: 6.2 percent Wheat: 5.81 percent Pulses: 23.79 percent Vegetables: (-)9.92 percent Fruits: 10.02 percent Milk: 17.33 percent Potatoes: (-)45.04 percent Onions: (-)7.86 percent…

The government should provide subsidies, promote markets and manage irrigation systems to motivate vegetable farmers. The government has to make extra efforts to monitor the market. In the absence of an effective monitoring system of the government, prices of such items will be rising.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also voiced concern about the high rate of inflation, saying it is no longer confined to food items and hoped that it would moderate after the monsoon season.

If not the concerned authorities, middle men, agents etc, Hope the revival in monsoon and improved supply from the southern states will bring down the prices of essential commodities & vegetables to some extent in the country.

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