According to BT Badhan, APMC joint secretary, wholesalers have no control over the retail prices of vegetables which are sold at twice the rate of procurement. But the meeting will throw more light on the speculative activity of retailers.

The fact remains that there have been crop failures in the country due to unseasonal rains in May, as a result there have been several cases of hoarding by large retailers which have further spiralled costs of vegetables. Citing the example of tomatoes, Badhan said, the wholesale price was Rs 18 per kilogram on Friday while there have been consumers who have said they have bought tomatoes at a highly inflated rate of Rs 32 in the retail market.

Residents of Mumbai have been paying high rates of vegetables recently. Retailers have beenattributing the severe price rise to failure of rabi crop, which is true to a great extent but the rate at which the prices are zooming is not in tune with the shortage of vegetables, a trader said. Unseasonal rains during the sowing season has no doubt ruined the chances of cheap vegetables reaching the kitchens, he added. Nashik district, a major supplier of onions was hit by unseasonal rain causing severe damage to the crop. This affected the onion supplies and its price. The same is the case with potatoes. Northern India, major potato supplier in the country, suffered major damage of the crop due to unseasonal rains. Prices of potatoes has shot up to Rs 15 per kg last week as against Rs six in May end. Onion prices have also shot up to Rs 15-20 per kilogram against May's Rs six. Other green vegetables like green peas, cauliflower, carrots, lady's finger, tomatoes have also witnessed a similar fate. Most of the vegetables range from Rs 24-Rs 120 per kg.

According to APMC officials the retail prices arefixed by vendors and there is no authority or body to monitor them. Transportation and other overheads add to the higher prices, but they do not warrant such a wide margin, they added.