Ample supply has seen vegetable prices anchoring this week though the price of fresh-cut banana leaves is a cause for heartburn. The sine qua non for any ‘Ona Sadya’, fresh banana leaves are reported to be in short supply and is likely to test the price barrier.
There are a few items on the list of Onam vegetables that are dearer after the prices of tomato, shallot, big onion, and green chilly are seen moving down after nearly three months of record levels. Cool season vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, and beetroot are considered affordable though the price of ginger continues to be in the range of ₹110 to ₹240 a kg, depending on the quality. The old stocks are costly compared to the more fresh arrivals.
Vegetable merchant K.K. Ashraf said on Wednesday that Ernakulam market was seeing sufficient supplies with around 14 small and big loads arriving daily from places like Coimbatore, Ottanchatram, Mettupalayam, and Mysore.
The price of ‘Nedran’ variety of plantains has gone up to ₹65 a kg from ₹45 a kg. The price is likely to come down substantially after the Onam season demand for banana chips drops. But the ‘Njalipoovan’ variety has proven to be dearer at ₹60 a kg, the price having moved up by 25%. Unripe mango price, driven by scarcity, has moved up to ₹110 a kg and lemons are costly at ₹100 a kg.
Drumstick costs ₹40 a kg, green chilly ₹50, big onion ₹40, shallot ₹60, French beans ₹60, and cabbage ₹40 a kg.
Sources in Horticorp, which has a market intervention programme, said there was no scarcity of vegetables, and that the prices were steady. The government agency is selling products around 30% less than the market level to keep the prices cool.
A wholesale banana leaf dealer in Ernakulam said that for over 10 days the demand for leaves would peak at around 1.5 lakh pieces a day. A small quantity of banana leaves arriving in markets such as Thripunithura are locally sourced from Piravom and Thiruvaniyoor. Banana leaves are also sourced from Theni and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, while the bulk of supplies is from Sathyamangalam and sometimes Puliyanpetty.
The overall vegetable prices are also likely to be influenced by local production under various initiatives. For instance, women farmers of the Kudumbashree Mission have taken up cultivation of vegetables and different varieties of bananas for Onam in around 1,200 hectares.
