Restaurants across south India have dropped tomato rice and Chutney’s from the menu due to the high prices of vegetables in southern India.
This major decision was taken by small hoteliers due to the rise in the price of crops, and tomato is not the only crop that has been affected by the spike. Prices of vegetables such as brinjal, ladies finger, drumstick, tomatoes, beans, and carrots have increased in the retail sector, putting family budgets at risk. This follows a price increase in cooking gas cylinders. Tomatoes, which sell for Rs 80 to Rs 100 in the wholesale market, are sold by merchants for Rs 120. Retailers sell brinjal for Rs 100 and upwards, while wholesalers sell it for Rs 70 to Rs 80. The price of drumstick, a vital component in sambar, has reached a new high of Rs 270 per kg.
However, even if the rains might take a back seat in the coming days, the traders and businesses throughout Tamil Nadu believe that any relief from the state's increasing vegetable prices is unlikely in the coming days.
What the consumers might find shocking is that the retail market prices of certain veggies have risen beyond Rs 50 and some have risen above Rs 100. Even cabbage, which normally costs between Rs 10 and Rs 20 at wholesale, is now priced between Rs 40 and Rs 50. The rains are directly blamed by traders for the inflation. They predict that once fresh harvests become available in January, the price would gradually decrease. Not only have homeowners been affected by the price increase, but so have hotels.
Southern India had to go through a lot of hardships in the past few weeks due to the returning monsoons and the sudden occurrence of the cyclone Jawad. This sudden change in weather had actually caused a huge spike in the prices of vegetables across southern India. The major cause of the price increase is crop damage caused by excessive rains in neighbouring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which restricted supplies. During the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, vegetable prices often rise, but this is rarely accompanied by a major supply deficit.
Vegetable output in Kerala has lately decreased due to severe downpours caused by the emergence of low-pressure zones over the seas and the northeast monsoon, known locally as the Thulavarsham. The increase in moisture content in the air also played a key role in decreasing the shelf life of the fruit and vegetables which led to the spike in prices.
