Vegetable prices shoot up in major cities as rains disrupt supply lines

The price spike might get worse as heavy rains may continue over the next few months

Vegetable prices have spiked in major cities as copious rains in August and September have disrupted supply lines.

Among the worst affected have been green vegetables such as coriander leaves (dhaniya) whose prices have jumped by a mind-numbing 350 percent in Delhi markets in the last month.

In Mumbai, spinach rates have risen by 100 percent in the last one month. The price impact of supply disruption on veggies varies a lot between markets as production is highly localized and fragmented.

Trading in mandis also gets impacted in heavy rains as most of the purchase and selling is done in the open largely in partially covered sheds.

With rains threatening to continue to major growing regions over the next months, the price spike might get worse.

Already, the Central government has started cheap sales of onions in major markets across the country through Nafed and NCCF. Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation had moderated to 5.06 percent in July 2024 from 8.36 percent in June.

However, with vegetable prices jumping in August and September, it remains to be seen how long the numbers remain benign. A spike in inflation could make the job of RBI more difficult, which is hoping for good rains to help moderate food prices instead.

During the week ending September 4, the southwest monsoon was a whopping 25 percent above normal. While, in the whole 2024 monsoon season that started on June 1, the rains are 8 percent surplus