Soaring vegetable prices hit people hard

Thiruvananthapuram: Vegetable prices have zoomed in the southern state of Kerala forcing people to buy their daily supplies in fractions of a kilogram.

The price rise has been blamed on unseasonal rains in neighbouring Tamil Nadu state on which Kerala relies for a good portion of its vegetables.

Prices of vegetables of common consumption like green beans crossed Rs60 (Dh5) a kilogram, a level it has not seen before.

In an attempt to provide some relief from the price spiral, the state's agriculture department yesterday decided to supply vegetable kits to the public across the state, priced at Rs18 per kit.

Critical fortnight

State Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran, who acknowledged the impact of the loss of crops in Tamil Nadu on vegetables prices in Kerala, said the state faced a critical fortnight ahead as far as the prices of vegetables were concerned.

Considering the crippling effect of prices on the common man's family budgets, the agriculture department has drawn up plans to supply 200,000 vegetable kits at Rs18 each.

There will be exclusive vegetable markets at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi to supply these kits, with each kit expected to be sufficient for a family for two days.

What has compounded the problem for Kerala - deemed a consumer state - is the fact that the increase in the price of fuel over the past few years has added to the transportation cost of vegetables and provisions, making them so much more dearer.