Consumers have resorted to buying a reduced amount of goods due to the price hike in the retail market.
Ambalika Banerjee
The rise in food inflation in the Indian economy has impacted the purchasing power of its consumers. Consumers have resorted to buying a reduced amount of goods due to the price hike in the retail market. They complain of the exorbitant rates of vegetables and spices.
A.S khan, a businessman from Bengaluru said, “Prices for vegetables and oil have increased so much; it has become difficult to maintain the budget. I have reduced my purchases. I’ve to manage my rents and payments for my kids’ education as well.”
The price hike has not only worried the customers but also the local vendors of the city.
Sharada, a vegetable vendor from K.R Market said, “The cost of pulses have gone up from Rs.80 to Rs.300. The price of onion, garlic, pulses, and ginger has risen. The rates have almost doubled. The business has impacted because of these price changes.”
Due to the price hike in essential commodities like green vegetables, vendors complain of the heavy losses incurred by them.
Syed Yasin, a vegetable vendor from K.R Market said, “Garlic used to cost Rs.120-160 and in the last few days it has gone up to Rs.260. People are buying only 250grams otherwise if the rate would have been less they would have bought 1-2kgs. I’ve only been able to sell 5 bags of garlic of 25 bags in the last few days. I’m running a loss of Rs.1.25 lakhs for the past 4 days.”
A survey conducted by National Statistical Office on Consumer Price Index (CPI), retail inflation in the Indian economy has jumped to a five-year high of 7.35% in December 2019. Food inflation rose to 14.12% in December in contrast to -2.65% in December 2018.
Along with vegetable prices, other commodities like meat, fish and several spices have also been impacted.
Syed Salim, a fish vendor in K.R Market said, “The prices of shellfish were Rs.500, now it has gone up to Rs.700.The prices of big fishes have gone up by Rs.200.When the prices are decent we sell 50-60 boxes of fish daily, however, given the present scenario its only 10 boxes a day.
Dr.Venkatesh Athreyar, retired economics professor of Bharatidasan University said State government plays an important role to curb the price hike. He said, “The government can use the help of co-operative model to control these prices. At present the central govt. is squeezing the funds out of the state government through these G.S.T and other taxes.”
Dr. Ranjani Raman, a nutritionist from Bengaluru mentioned due to the change in consumption pattern health could be impacted. She said, “Junk food is cheaper than vegetable and fruits and that impacts the choice of food people make. Because of repeated intake of high calorie food, children are mostly impacted. People are suffering from anemia. When there is no variety in intake there will be deficiency in terms of nutrition.”
Experts foresee if the price hike continues unchecked, the city may witness a substantial increase in the number of diseases due to lack of nutrition.
