Udte Prices: Why Tomatoes & Dal Are Burning Holes In Your Pocket
Why are prices of essentials like pulses, wheat, tomatoes and onions over the roof?
A kilo of dal is at Rs.170/kg, tomatoes are touching Rs.100/kg, potatoes and onion are also soaring at almost Rs.80/kg. Food inflation is at a two year high of 7.55 percent.
Basically putting food on your plate is burning a hole in your pocket. So why is it that government after government, the same story repeats itself.
The Quint looks at how the most politicised issue in every election is actually not so political. Here’s why you are dealing with ‘udte’ prices:
1. Rabi Crop Damage
Prices are over the roof because of the damage caused to the Rabi crop (wheat, maze, onion, tomatoes etc) because of severe drought in southern states.
2. Drought
Vegetable prices typically soar during the extended dry season and remain high until the fresh crops hit the market by the end of August. However, the government claims it is procuring pulses and onion to create a buffer stock that can be used for controlling prices. With this boost in supply, these essentials will be available in the open market at a cheaper rate.
3. Short Shelf Life
Tomato has a short shelf life and cannot be stored for too long. So heavy rains or a dry season hits tomatoes the hardest.
4. Poor Storage
India also suffers from an acute shortage of proper storage facilities, so rotting and wastage is a common phenomenon.
5. Demand & Supply Problem
Pulses suffer from a perennial demand and supply problem. Production of pulses has declined by 17.06 million tonnes in 2015-16 due to two consecutive years of drought while the demand stands unchanged at 23.5 million tonnes.
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