more-in Prices of locally grown vegetables (except English vegetables grown in hill areas) mainly brinjal and ladies finger have increased sharply in the whole sale and retail markets in Tiruchi due to sharp fall in arrivals. One kg of high quality brinjal (from Manapparai) was sold at ?60 to ?65 in retail at Gandhi Market on Saturday. The rate was ?56 to ?60 a kg at the wholesale market. In Uzhavar Sandhais, which usually toe the price line of Gandhi Market, one kg of brinjal was being sold at ?56 on Saturday. In grocery stores it was ?70 and ?85 per kilo at a vegetable chain store on E. V. Road in Puthur on Saturday. The price of ladies finger was more than brinjal. One kg of ladies finger was sold at ?65 to ?70 in retail at Gandhi market. The price at Uzhavar Sandhais was ?58 per kilo. It was sold between ?80 and?100 in the open market a few days ago. Similar is the case of broad beans (avarai) and cluster beans. The prices hovered between ?60 to ?70 in the open markets. Though prices of these vegetables usually shoot up in May, traders say that sky rocketing prices in February is unusual. They attribute it to the failure of north east monsoon. R. Karthick, a shop keeper at Uzhavar Sandhai at Anna Nagar in Thennur, said farmers were bringing just four or five kilos of ladies finger and brinjal for the last few days due to dip in production. Since they cost more, the customers preferred to buy hill grown vegetables, which cost less than local vegetables. Carrot, radish and potato were being sold between ?15 to 25 per kilo. “The arrival of local vegetable has dipped to a great extent for the last three to four weeks. We hardly get loads of brinjal and bhendi,” says M. Sulthan Basha, a wholesale vegetable trader in Gandhi market. He said the prices of local vegetables had started rising from the fourth week of January. The prices of most of them were not ruled less than ?50 per kilo for the last two weeks. The situation was different last year during the same month. The prices were moderate then as markets were flooded with these vegetables. Mr. Basha said that there was no chance of respite in prices of vegetables in the near future. The prices would go up further in the summer months, he added.

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