Price of veggies, chicken rise in city

KOLKATA: Prices of daily food items, especially leafy vegetables and chicken, increased due to spiraling diesel prices on Tuesday.

The traders attributed the price rise to a hike in transportation cost. Now that diesel rates have crossed Rs 90 per litre, transporters have revised the tariff for transporting the commodities.

Depending upon the quality, the retail price of vegetables (Brinjal, lady finger, Ridge gourd, etc) shot up by Rs 10 in different markets on Tuesday.

Last week, the price of chicken was hovering around Rs 180 and Rs 190 (per kg) and egg touched Rs 6 (per piece) in the markets across the city. On Tuesday, the cost of chicken shot up to Rs 220 (per kg) and egg touched Rs 7 (per piece).

"The rise in the price of chicken is due to increase in demand and short supply. Due to the safety restrictions in the state, most of the poultry firms are not breeding chicken due to scarcity of labour. This apart, the transport cost has also increased. That is why there is shortage of chicken and price hike," said Md Shoaib Khan, a chicken wholesaler. According to the West Bengal Poultry Federation, the price of chicken has gone up because the price of the chicken feed has gone up. The price of foods, which are served to the chicken in the hatchery, has suddenly shot up.

Enforcement Branch (EB) of Kolkata Police conducted raids in city markets on Tuesday.

"The prices of vegetables, chicken and egg are high in the market. This (price hike) is normal when there is a diesel price hike or heavy rain. We usually conduct surveys so that there is no black marketing," said an official, after inspecting Shyambazar market.

When officials disclosed their identities and asked for explanations, sellers tried to convince them that they were buying the vegetables at a high rate. However, no actions have been taken on Tuesday.