Prices of essentials soar

The Society has urged the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Haribhau Bagade to prevail upon the Central Government to release wheat for sale in the open market. Wheat is the main ingredient in maida used to produce bread and pav. The hike in price of wheat from Rs 600 to Rs 825 per quintal has pushed the cost of maida from Rs 625 to Rs 900 per quintal. The hike has badly hit about 20,000 bakeries across the state.The Food Corporation of India has failed to release wheat for October-March period. Suchperiodic releases of essentials by the FCI are aimed at controlling of prices. The hike in onion prices has led to restricted consumption. “We are disappointed at the steep rise in the price of onions,” says Avani Bakshi, a housewife in Santacruz. “While earlier we consumed at least five kilos a month, today we are forced to buy less and use it sparingly,” she said. She blamed the state government for failing to tackle the situation despite the alliance coming to power on promises of giving stable prices to essentialcommodities.

Some assurances came from Chandrakant Jagtap of the Brihanmumbai Vegetables and Fruit Merchants Mahasangh. “The situation will improve, at least as far as onions are concerned, by next month. With fresh stocks coming into the market, we are hopeful that the prices of onions will reduce marginally,” he said.

For the present, however, the situation is grim. Only 50 to 100 truckloads of onions arrive every day instead of usual 200. Besides, unseasonal rains have also hit supplyof vegetables with only around 300 truckloads coming to the city compared to 500 earlier.

“We must be thankful that it is the time of Ramzan, where a large Muslim population live on a mainly fruits and dryfruits. As a result, the demand for vegetables is not high,” Jagtap observed.

At present, the wholesale rates for onions are Rs 200 for ten kilos. By the time it wends its way to our markets, the prices have increased to around Rs 30 and the shopkeeper himself is apologetic when pronouncing the prices.Those who are in the business of food are feeling the pinch. While onions have almost disappeared from the menu, the office bearers feel it has made an already stagnant business, weaker.