Vegetable prices continued to burn a hole in consumers' pockets in Delhi as
food inflation soared to 12.21 per cent for the week ended October 22. However, wholesale traders claim there is hardly any major change in wholesale prices.
Prices of most vegetables have
increased by around 20-30 per cent since the last month. Retail prices of vegetables such as tomatoes, onion, potato, brinjal and others have risen significantly in the period. While tomatoes are selling at Rs 35-40 a kg, onions are priced at Rs 25-30 a kg in open markets.
Consumers complain that the vegetable prices have become unbearable and said the
government is not serious about the plight of the common man.
"Everything has become costly in the last few months. We have started compromising on consumption of essential food items like milk and vegetables," said Sunil Bhardwaj, a government employee in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, wholesale traders at the Azadpur vegetable market claim that prices are stable. "Monsoon has been almost normal in most of the country and there is no supply deficit. There is hardly any rise in wholesale prices. Potato is still selling at the rate of Rs 3-5 a kg," said Rajender Sharma, general secretary of Azadpur fruits and vegetable traders' association.
"They (middle-men and retailers) always look for some reasons to make profit. They take benefit of the situation, like bad weather or diesel price hike, and fix the rates at higher levels," he added.
Another trader said the government is not enforcing a control over the prices of vegetables.
Courtesy: Mail Today 
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