Pune: Vegetable prices have surged by 10-15% amid water shortages and concerns over reduced supplies, making commonly used ingredients such as coriander, green chillies and onions more expensive.Onions are selling at Rs 70 per kg and coriander at Rs 40 a bunch.“Household essentials are becoming expensive, inflating grocery bills considerably,” said Sangita Rajpal, a resident of Kothrud.“Prices have been rising over the past few days. Vendors said the prices may increase further as water shortages worsen on farms. I am planning to buy extra vegetables now and store them as purées,” said Kirtana Jain, a resident of Wanowrie.Nitin Chaure, head of the fruits and vegetables market at APMC Pune, said the number of truckloads arriving at the market had declined because of water scarcity. “Prices are high because of the drought-like situation on farms around the city,” he said.Vilas Bhujbal, a wholesale vegetable vendor at Market Yard, said the increase in onion price was the cumulative impact of trends over the past six to seven months. “Fresh crop arrivals, which usually begin in Sept, have not picked up. Price is likely to rise by 25% after Diwali,” he said.Green chillies, onions, cluster beans (gavar), coriander and green capsicum are all 10-15% more expensive than usual. “Customers are buying vegetables selectively. Tomatoes are not very expensive right now, so people are buying more of them,” said Bharat Mane, a vegetable vendor on Salunkhe Vihar Road.Sourabh Kunjir, chairperson of the Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard Aadte Association, Pune, said fruit and vegetable prices have risen over the past month because of water scarcity in and around the city. “Pomegranates, dragonfruit and even oranges have become more expensive. With the festive season underway, prices are likely to rise further,” he said.Wholesalers said conversations with farmers had revealed that borewells have dried up, forcing them to spend more on watering their farms. “If demand remains high, prices will rise further. It is unlikely that prices will fall below current levels in the near future,” a wholesaler said.Disha Tanna, who runs a cloud kitchen, said the price rise was adding to operating costs.“The increase in vegetable prices is pushing up our kitchen costs. We are trying to absorb the additional expenses without raising menu prices immediately. However, if the trend continues, we may have to review our pricing,” she said.
