Prices of vegetables have hit the roof in Tamil Nadu with one kilogram of onions costing as much as Rs 90. This sharp rise from Rs 30- 40 has prompted the government to crack down on hoarding by traders and wholesalers. However, trade bodies have rubbished these claims, attributing the price rise to floods in parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
According to a statement from the government on Tuesday, traders hoarding onions worth more than 50 tonnes will face action while the same applies to retailers with over 10 tonnes in stock. Specially-constituted teams of the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department would undertake checks across districts to ensure there is no hoarding. Authorities from the state have said that they would also be purchasing onions from Nasik in Maharashtra in order to regulate prices for good quality onions
Speaking to TNM, VR Soundararajan, President of the Koyambedu Wholesale Traders Association and member of Market Management Committee, said that allegations of hoarding are false since the vegetables are perishables. “Let them come and catch us if we are hoarding. Unlike groceries, we will be the ones suffering if we hoard vegetables,” he explains.
Soundararajan explains that Bellary onions, which cost Rs 30 in October are now Rs 60 per kilogram at the Koyambedu wholesale market. “We source this from Karnataka. There have been rains and floods in the neighbouring state which have affected transportation of trucks. And this, in turn, is reflected in the prices of the Bellary onions. Earlier, when there were rains, the net effect on our prices would only be around 30 percent, but now it is 60 percent. This situation will continue for around two months.” he says.
Apart from onions, the price of drum sticks, sourced from Maharashtra and Karnataka have also gone up by Rs 30- 40 to Rs 120 per kilogram.
Similarly, the prices of locally-sourced vegetables like carrots (up from Rs 35 per kilogram to Rs 60 per kilogram), beans (up from Rs 35 per kilogram to Rs 50) have also gone up as a result. However, these are expected to stabilize shortly thanks to the rains that south Tamil Nadu has witnessed this northeast monsoon season.
Meanwhile DMK chief MK Stalin tweeted, “Just like other vegetables, onions are also essential. The rise in the price of onions inconveniences the general public. It is the duty of the government to ensure that the price of essential commodities are available to the public without inconvenience and their prices are not hiked.”