October 4: The prices of green vegetables have increased by as much as 280 percent in the last two weeks. The daily price list of the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Board (KFVMDB) shows the price of vegetables has skyrocketed recently. 

Although there is no problem in the arrival of vegetables in the market, the general consumers have been directly affected by the unnatural price hike. 

The price of tomatoes has increased the most. The average wholesale price of small local tomatoes, which was Rs 12 per kg on September 30, has risen by 280 percent to Rs 45 per kg in the last two weeks. The price of tomatoes grown in tunnels has also increased by 178 percent from Rs 20 to Rs 55 per kg. 

Similarly, the price of gourd has increased by 73 percent from Rs 55 per kg to Rs 95 per kg. 

The price of local cauliflower has also increased by 50 percent from Rs 60 to Rs 90 per kg. 

Among the high-priced vegetables are bitter gourd, beans, okra and gourd. 

According to the data provided by the board, 800 to 900 tons of vegetables enter Kalimati every day. Although there is no problem in the supply system, the prices of vegetables have been increasing. 

Binay Shrestha, information officer of the KFVMDB, said that the prices of some vegetables have increased unnaturally due to the unequal supply of vegetables. 

“The price of vegetables has escalated as the supply of expensive vegetables decreased. The price of vegetables will not decline until new vegetables arrive at the market,” he told New Business Age. 

Consumer rights activists say the steady rise in vegetable prices is not a good sign, while there is no problem with the supply system. President of the Consumer Rights Investigation Forum Madhav Timilsina said that the general consumers are being affected due to the layers of middlemen between the farmers and the consumers. He says consumer fraud will not stop until the government sidelines the middlemen. He is of the view that the government should implement the Consumer Rights Protection Act 2075 to protect the consumers.