PNS | DEHRADUN
The demand-supply imbalance caused by the ongoing wedding season has resulted in a surge in the vegetable price in the markets across Dehradun district. Many locals The Pioneer spoke to on this matter voiced their concerns, saying that prices of cauliflower, capsicum and onions have been rising steeply, causing extra strain on their kitchen budget. “Some seasonal vegetables have nearly gone out of bounds for us,” rued one of them.
Asked to comment on this market trend, the secretary of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Ajay Dabral said that the winter season and the wedding season combined have led to the vegetable price hike, averaging between 10 to 15 per cent. “The prices are expected to stabilise after the wedding season is over,” he added.
A vegetable vendor Ravi Kumar said that the trend is quite normal. “Every year, the vegetable prices go up during the wedding season due to the demand spike. This year is no exception. Before the wedding season started, I used to sell cauliflower for Rs 30 per kg and now it varies between Rs 50 and Rs 70 per kg,” he said.
Speaking on the same matter, a customer, found buying vegetables at a prominent market in the city, Varun Vashith said that the price of onion had surged first and it was followed then by the steep spike in the prices of other vegetables. “Things have changed in a fortnight,” he said, adding that the winter vegetables like bitter gourd, cauliflower and capsicum are becoming too hot for them to touch.
Further explaining the escalating vegetable prices, Dabral said that aside from the heightened demand due to the ongoing marriage season, their dwindling supply had contributed to the hiked prices. “What is aggravating things is the transporters’ occupation with the weddings. The demand-supply imbalance has reached up to 10 to 15 per cent for vegetables. However, the prices will stabilise once the wedding season concludes,” he added.
He further said that the price of cauliflower has risen from Rs 12 to Rs 20 per kg at the wholesale market. “Likewise, the price of capsicum has increased from Rs 15 to Rs 25 per kg,” he said.
