As Onam, an annual Hindu festival nears, not everyone is entering the celebratory mode. Households, particularly, are groaning under the burden of ever-rising fruit and vegetable prices.
Bindu, a homemaker, said banana prices had registered a steep increase and the household budget was being stretched like never before, but they could not do without bananas.
The most sought-after ‘nendran’ variety of banana cost Rs. 85 a kg in vegetable outlets on Saturday, as against Rs. 50 a kg a month ago.
The Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam on Friday listed the retail price of ‘nendran’ at Rs. 70, and the wholesale price at Rs. 65.
It is not only the price of the ‘nendran’ variety that is heading north. A vegetable vendor at Eenchakkal said ‘njalipoovan’ (rasa kadali) cost Rs. 90 a kg while ‘palayamkodan’ cost Rs. 50. The robusta variety cost Rs. 45 a kg, and ‘poovan’, Rs. 40-50 a kg. The retail price of the ‘kappa’ variety was Rs. 72 a kg, said a vendor at Karamana. “Prices will only increase as Onam approaches,” he said.
1 RS = 0.016 USD
