Kilo of tomatoes, onions cost Rs 20 and 50 in Chennai

CHENNAI: Vegetable prices in the city have seen a marginal drop due to adequate supply from across Tamil Nadu, and neighbouring states recently. Tomatoes and onions rates have reduced to Rs 20/kg and Rs 50/kg respectively.

Traders are expecting the supply to further increase, which would stabilise the rates further in the coming days.

After almost a month, the Koyambedu wholesale market started to receive a steady supply of perishable commodities. The recent intense rainfall had affected harvesting but no crops were damaged severely compared to the previous monsoon seasons. So, the production of vegetables was not disrupted, and adequate supply arrived at the market.

“Thanks to the 500 trucks of vegetables that arrived in the market, there is only a marginal drop in prices. Though the sales were dull for the last few weeks due to heavy rains, this doesn’t affect us badly,” said P Sukumaran, treasurer, Koyambedu Wholesale Merchants’ Association. “We’ve also started to receive vegetables from across Tamil Nadu; supply has normalised from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too. The supply is expected to increase further from next week. It would not lower the prices drastically though.”

The first crop cultivation will begin from next month, which will boost production and supply to Chennai. “It may lower the prices of some vegetables further in the coming days, but overall, prices will remain stable. However, if there is any supply disruption due to the change in weather conditions, rates would fluctuate,” stated G Ramesh, a retail vendor at George Town.

Wholesale price/kg:

Tomatoes Rs 20

Onions Rs 50

Beetroots Rs 50

Carrots Rs 30-40

Brinjal Rs 30

Bitter gourd Rs 40

Chow chow Rs 25

Cucumber Rs 20

Peas 90-100

Beans and broad beans 50-60