Vegetable prices have hit the roof this year. Onions prices have been steady at around Rs 50 per kg with other essentials hit hard too. APMC sources reveal that unseasonal rain has sent prices shooting up and there seem to be no chances of the rates lowering at least till the new crop arrives in March.
“It’s virtually cheaper eating out than cooking at home,” says 45-year-old homemaker Vrushali Sharma who adds, “vegetables have started costing a bomb while meat prices have remained more or less the same.”
Vegetable vendors at Lala Nigam Road continue to wait unendingly for customers who are few and far between as prices refuse to ebb. But, the sabziwallas are upbeat when asked about business. Putting up a brave front, they justify their prices saying “Arrey, jo ghoomke bechne wale ferriwalle hain...woh to gaayab hi ho gaye hain.”
Apparently, with prices rising to highs as never before, the door-to-door vegetable seller has, simply, quit. There are just no margins for him to survive!