Prices of vegetables surging, officials unable to control

Visakhapatnam, Oct 15 (UNI) Prices of most of the vegetables in Andhra Pradesh have shot up and officials concerned have expressed their inability to control the trend till the fresh arrivals in the market during the third week of November.

Prices are beyond reach of the common man, whether it is beans, brinjal, carrot or cauliflower.

According to Horticulture Department officials here, the trend was prevalent in the entire state and was not confined to any particular area. However, depending on the variety, there was variation in prices.

For example, the market price of tomatoes was Rs 30 to 35 per Kg. But, the same was available at Rs 12 to 15 in Chittoor district, where tomatoes were cultivated on a large scale. The total demand for tomatoes in the city was 120 quintals per day but the supply was not more than 50 quintals, they added.

The major supply of tomatoes to the city comes from Bangalore, where there was a heavy loss of crop this season. This has led to the steep hike in prices.

The district Revenue Department officials dealing with civil supplies said creation of an independent agency was needed to control the surging prices on day-to-day basis.

A corpus fund of Rs 100 crore should be set apart, they added.

The agency area should be under direct control of the Commissioner of civil supplies and the Commissioner should be allowed to take independent decisions regarding marketing of vegetables on a day-to-day basis, they added.

UNI BSR MDG 1704