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Rains make vegetable prices shoot up

The cost of common vegetables, have shot up by 20 to 50 per cent
Coimbatore: Rains and festival season have sent the prices of vegetables spiralling in the city. The cost of common vegetables, including onions, tomatoes and potatoes, have shot up by 20 to 50 per cent, say traders.
As it is the auspicious month of Purattasi, when non-vegetarian Hindus avoid eating meat, the demand for vegetables has spiked. According to S. Bashzeer of Vegetable Wholesale Merchants and Exporters Association, the rains have severely damaged crops in several areas, including Nachipalayam, Kinathukadavu and Velandavalam, bordering Kerala, where green chilli and tomato crop yield have been affected significantly.
There is a shortage of ladies finger, cowpeas and coriander leaves because of heavy rains in Sencherimalai. The prices are not expected to come down in the next few days, said Bashzeer.
The Koyambedu market in Chennai that was getting vegetables from Andhra Pradesh is now getting tomatoes and green chillis from Coimbatore because the crops in the neighbouring state have been destroyed due to heavy rains.
This has further escalated the demand and prices of green chillis and tomatoes have gone up considerably. According to P. Ragupathy, a staff of Palamudhir Nilayam in R.S. Puram, “There is no specific increase in vegetable price because of Navarathri. However, vegetable prices are likely to go up a little further on Monday and Tuesday next week because Mysore is closed for Dasara for two days this weekend and we cannot expect the usual load of vegetables from there.”
( Source : dc )
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