Team Herald
MARGAO: The monsoons may have banished the heat and humidity, but the heat on the pockets of Goans continues. The spiralling prices of vegetables are taking them beyond the reach of consumers and vendors are taking them off their shelves.
The Horticulture Corporation sponsored vegetable outlets do not have carrots and capsicums on their shelves as their prices have shot up tremendously.
Vegetable vendors at SGPDA market in Margao are selling capsicums at the rate of Rs 60 a kg while carrot is available for a whopping Rs 100 per kg.
Green chillies are being sold at the rate of Rs 49 per kg at the Horticulture outlets while in the open it is available for Rs 80 per kg. French beans which are sold at the Horticulture outlets for Rs 40 per kg are sold in the open market at Rs 100 per kg.
Prices of even the common cluster beans have shot up. They are available at the Horticulture outlets for Rs 23 a kg while are sold in the market at Rs 60 per kg. Even mint leaves have become expensive. The bundle sold for Rs 20 today was available for Rs 10 last month.
There is a huge price variation even in the common ladyfingers which are sold for Rs. 23 a kg at the Horticulture outlets but at Rs. 60 a kg in the market.
The only vegetables whose prices do not vary much in the two outlets are potatoes, tomatoes and onions. While onions are sold at Rs. 14 per kg at the Horticulture outlets, in the open market it is available for Rs 20 per kg and potatoes that are available for Rs 15 a kg at the Horticulture outlets are sold at Rs 20 per kg in the market.
The price of tomatoes is Rs. 40 at the Horticulture outlet and Rs 50 in the open market. Incidentally just last month tomatoes were available for Rs 18 a kg. Before the onset of monsoons, capsicums that are now costing Rs 60 a kg were available for Rs 35 per kg and carrots which have shot up to Rs 100 a kg were available for Rs 40 per kg.
