Chennai, Mar 16: Apart from a temporary surge in the prices of tomatoes, the other two staples onions and potatoes, have begun to stabilise. Onions have settled down to the Rs 3-6 levels to which they had recently crashed down. But other vegetables like chillies, green peas, carrots and cabbage have begun to witness volatility, with the first two seeing very marked swings.With the seasonal demand for tomatoes picking up, prices in Chennai have risen by around 100 per cent, going to Rs 70-80 from Rs 35-50 per 15 kilo boxes. However the supplies position is gradually improving and with demand from the marriage season tapering off, the market expects prices to drop to around Rs 40 by the end of this fortnight.
Chilli prices in particular have been swinging wildly for the past week, quoting at Rs 7 per kg one day and at Rs 10 the next. Market sources said they expect this trend to continue for some more time, at least until the last week of this month. Uncertain supplies caused by the change-over season isthe main factor behind this volatility, market sources said. The sharpest rise has been seen in green peas, as supplies from northern centres like Delhi have dried up. This has forced dealers to rely totally on Ooty and Kodaikanal, which cannot meet the demand here. As a result, prices have shot up from Rs 10-15 per kg to around Rs 28 and are set to go up to Rs 35-40 levels, if not further. ``It will not make sense to ship down consignments from centres like Delhi as supplies there are limited and will be enough to meet only local demand. As a result prices will be the same if not more than what is ruling here,'' dealers said.
Prices of carrots and cabbage too have begun to reflect the steady widening of the demand-supply gap. The former has shown a 50 per cent jump at wholesale level going to Rs 120-135 per 15 kgs. Cabbages have moved up by 25-30 per cent and are currently ruling around Rs 45-50 per 15 kgs. Dealers are however confident that this situation will settle down quite soon and said: ``We do notexpect the present rise to last more than a fortnight.''
Meanwhile, heavy freight costs have led to an increase in the prices of tomatoes in the Tamil Nadu market. According to the traders' association, the truckers who generally move the vegetable throughout the state, refused to take the loads on the grounds that the transporation rates were too low. Hence, in spite of a good crop and supply position, the prices of tomatoes went up in the state.
In the first week of March, the prices of tomatoes had crashed dramatically in the retail and wholesale market. The wholesale prices were around Rs 35 to Rs 40 for a 15 kilogram bag and the supplies were pouring in fast.
Since tomatoes are perishables with a very low shelf life, the retail prices plunged from Rs 10 per kilogram to Rs 2 per kilogram. This trend continued throughout the first week.
Since the prices of the vegetable were very low, the truckers' margin took a downward trend too. A trader said that usually the truckers take a percentage of thevegetable costs as their transportation costs. But when the prices touched the Rs 2 per kg level, the truckers turned around and said that the realisations did not cover their costs and started demanding a fixed amount for the transporation. The farmers could not cover the cost of transportation in their realisations and hence the prices of tomatoes slowly inched up. The current retail price of the vegetable is around Rs 8 per kg varying in a Rs 2 band between Rs 7 per kg and Rs 9 per kg.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
