Bengaluru vegetable prices surge as monsoon rains threaten festival-season supplies

Vegetable prices across Bengaluru's wholesale and retail markets have climbed sharply in the past week as traders grapple with thin inventories, patchy monsoon rains and surging demand ahead of Varamahalakshmi and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals.

Onions, a kitchen staple, now sell at ₹32–35 per kg in wholesale hubs such as Kalasipalya, up from ₹17–28 last week, while retail rates have touched ₹50–55 and first-grade bulbs fetch ₹60 per kg. Gangadhariah, a trader at Kalasipalya vegetable market, said less rainfall and depleted stock have combined with high festive consumption to push prices higher. "Since onion is used as an ingredient in most of the dishes prepared at home, the demand is high," he noted. Karnataka depends heavily on Maharashtra for onions, and this year traders expect to order larger-than-usual volumes to meet demand.

Rain threatens fresh supply chains

Continued rainfall poses a double-edged problem: while beneficial for standing crops, it risks spoiling produce in transit, warned Vishwanath Patil, president of Jai Kisan Wholesale Vegetable Market in Belagavi. "If it rains, half of the stock will get wet and rot away in crates even before it reaches us," he said, explaining that onions and tomatoes sourced from Maharashtra and Chitradurga, respectively, are vulnerable during transport. Such losses would drive prices still higher.

Margins squeezed for street vendors

Retail sellers say the spike has eroded their earnings during what is traditionally a busy sales period. Valliammal, a vendor in Vasanth Nagar, said that on festival days she does not earn even ₹100 in profit because wholesale rates at APMC mandis have already climbed, compared with ₹200–400 on ordinary days.

She listed current retail rates: tomatoes at ₹40–45 per kg, up from ₹30–35; green chilli at ₹80 per kg from ₹60; bajji chilli expected to hit ₹80–90 by Friday from the current ₹70; beans at ₹90; and carrot rising from ₹70 to ₹88 per kg. "This year, because of deficient rain, high demand and low stock in wholesale markets, the prices have surged," she said.

Kalasipalya functions as a primary supply node for larger retail markets including Shivajinagar, Yeshwantpur, Gandhi Bazaar, K.R. Market and Madiwala.

Source: The Hindu