Price hike during Onam

Onam is a time when the quantity of goods purchased cannot be reduced in proportion to the increase in price. Also, there will be a tendency to buy more than necessary things during this time. Traders regularly resort to the strategy of increasing the price of goods by taking advantage of this. But during Onam this time, the prices are going up by breaking all the boundaries. Effective measures should be taken by the government to prevent this. With two weeks left for Onam, the price of rice has increased by Rs 12 per kg. Jaya rice, which Malayalis use the most, comes from Andhra and Jyoti rice from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Both have increased by Rs 10 and Rs 12 respectively.

As government intervention in the public market is ineffective, prices are likely to rise further. Andhra and Tamilnadu rice lobbies are jointly increasing the price ahead of Onam. Knowing that the price of rice will rise, middlemen have started hoarding rice. Hoarding can be controlled only by conducting effective raids. Due to the introduction of GST, packed rice has to be paid Rs 3 to 3.80 more per kg. In relation to other states, if more rice is supplied through public distribution centers including ration shops, the price increase can be contained to some extent. The prices of spices like coriander, chillies etc. can be controlled if they are bought together and delivered to the onam markets, the price increase can be controlled. At the time of Onam, most of the people buy jaggery-coated banana chips and other fruits, which are bought for roasting, and other fruits. A small bag of vegetables costs up to five hundred rupees.

Bananas are priced between Rs 75 and Rs 85 per kg. Although crop damage is said to be the reason for the rise in prices, the price hike phenomenon that repeats itself every Onam is mainly due to the strings of foreign lobbies. It is a regular program to make the most of Kerala, which depends on other states for anything and everything, during festivals like this. Kerala does not seem to be able to escape this cycle without achieving self-sufficiency at least in the production of vegetables and fruits.