Lakshmi Puja: Prices of veggies go north

kolkata: Prices of vegetables shot up due to heavy rains ahead of Lakshmi Puja on Tuesday.

It was only last week when tomato, one of the important ingredients for making curries and chutney, was priced between Rs 40 and Rs 50 per kg in different markets. On Tuesday, the retail price of one kg of tomato touched Rs 100.

"Today (Tuesday), we sold tomatoes at Rs100 per kg. The cost price of one kg is now Rs 90," said Krishna, a vegetable seller at Park Circus Market.He reiterated that the price of cucumber which was Rs 40 per kg shot up to Rs 50 on Tuesday. "Prices of all the vegetables have shot up by Rs 10 due to short supply following heavy rain in different markets," said Haridev, another vegetable vendor. "Our business is 40 per cent less because people don't have money to buy. Customers who used to one kg vegetable are now buying 600 gm," pointed the vendor.

Meanwhile, dairy products suppliers pointed out that the rush for milk products started two days ahead of Lakshmi Puja. "The wholesale price of one litre milk has increased from Rs 30 to Rs 42. Despite the increase in price, demand for milk is still high," Santosh Singh Chauhan, a dairy product supplier.