2023-07-03 18:36:24
Soaring prices of tomatoes, ginger, chillies and cumin are putting pressure on the kitchen bills.
On Monday, the price of tomatoes at Delhi’s Azadpur mandi, Asia’s largest wholesale market, shot up to rs 130 per kg from rs 100 on Friday. This is expected to increase the prices at the retail level to rs 170-180 a kg this week, traders said, while also warning of the prices possibly crossing the rs 200 mark.
Ginger, a basic essential for Indian cooking, costs Rs 320 per kg at the retail level compared with Rs 200 a month ago, as supplies from Karnataka have reduced due to unseasonal rains causing damage to the crop. The ongoing unrest in Manipur has also shrunk supply of ginger from the state.
Cumin or jeera, an essential spice in Indian kitchens, is hovering around Rs 55,750 per quintal at Gujarat’s Unjha Mandi. Jeera prices have rallied sharply on the back of strong domestic and export demand, coupled with a tight supply situation due to lower yield in the two main producer states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. A three-year low carryover stock of 50,000-60,000 tonnes has further pressurised the supply.
“Unseasonal rains in March have affected the production of jeera adversely,” said Arvind Patel, vice president of the Unjha mandi.
On tomatoes, Ashok Kaushik, president of the Tomato Traders Association at Azadpur, said the surge in prices was quite steep this time. “The same phenomenon had happened in 2017. Unseasonal rains in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have damaged the crop,” he said.
The northern states are now depending on supplies from Himachal Pradesh, he said, adding: “Supply from Maharashtra is also less as the crop there has been affected due to erratic weather conditions.”
In eastern states, tomato production has been impacted due to a heatwave. Tomato at the retail level is now selling at Rs 150–160 per kg. Kasuhik doesn’t expect prices to soften immediately. “However, demand is reducing as consumers are not buying because of high prices. If this trend continues, then there might be a small decline in prices.” India produces around 20-21 million tonnes of tomatoes annually.Dhruv Bhosin, owner of Delhi Ginger Trading Company, said prices of ginger at the wholesale level were going up constantly over the last two months. Rains in Karnataka have worsened the situation.
“Earlier, 25-30 trucks of ginger were coming to Azadpur mandi weekly. But now that has dwindled to 5-6 trucks. Also, farmers have cultivated a smaller crop this year as they had financially suffered last year due to higher production,” said a ginger trader from Azadpur mandi.
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