Vegetable,fruit prices continue to soar

As per the rates of retail vegetable shops,“The capsicum is Rs 40 per kg,peas Rs 60 per kg,French beans Rs 40 per kg,cauliflower Rs 40 per kg,reddish Rs 30 per kg,bitter gourd Rs 40 per kg etc,and briunjal Rs 30 per kg.”

The only cheaper vegetables are onion,priced at 15 per kg and tomato priced at Rs 20 per kg.

Not only vegetables,but fruits are also being sold at very high price. While bananas is being sold at Rs 40 per dozen,apple Rs 6-70 per kg,and mausami at Rs 80 per kg.

Amardeep Singh,general secretary of Punjab State Fruit and Vegetable Commission Agent Associationm said,“Beacuse of meagre rainfall,banana and mausami produce have been severly affected in Maharashtra and Hyderabad. We hope that by October-end,the situation will improve as banana crop of Gujarat will be ready by that time. I think bananas will become cheaper then. Similarly,with apples from Jammu and Kashmir having started coming in,the prices of apples will also come down now.”

The prices of vegetables are also expected to be stable by next month.

Harcharan Singh a vegetable commission agent,said,“This time we are getting potatoes for Rs 17-18 per kg in wholesale as due to less rainfall,the potato crop of Himchal Pardesh is too less,so the prices are high. In November,the new potato crop from Punjab will come and it would be cheaper.” While another shopkeeper said,“The vegetable prices are high because of lesser rains. But these will become cheaper after Diwali.”