Bhubaneswar, Sept. 17: Jasaswini Mohapatra, a homemaker from Soubhagya Nagar, usually buys her vegetables from local vendors. Today, she decided to go to the wholesale market because local vendors had increased prices following the diesel price hike.

“A week ago, capsicum sold for Rs 30 a kg, but local vendors are now charging Rs 45. Beans have reached Rs 50 a kg from somewhere between Rs 35 and Rs 40 a kg. A cauliflower now costs Rs 35 instead of Rs 25. I’m going to the wholesalers market today to get my vegetables at a cheaper price,” Mohapatra said, adding that the vendors were blaming the price rise on the transportation cost because these items came from other states.

However, Santosh Kumar Sahu, the largest importer of vegetables from centres in Karnataka, said this sudden rise in price was not entirely because of the diesel price hike. It could also be attributed to the festive season with Viswakarma Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi and Nuakhai one after the other.

“Our consignment, which has left from Bangalore, will arrive after two days. So, technically, prices of vegetables such as capsicum, beans, cauliflower, beat and carrot should increased after two days. Some traders might have increased it citing the same, but that is unfair. A truckload of tomatoes costs us Rs 42,000 to bring from Bangalore, but now it will cost around Rs 49,000. So, we have to charge more to recover the extra charge,’’ he said.

The city and its surrounding areas consume more than 300 tonne of vegetables a day. However, many small-time farmers and traders supplying seasonal vegetables such as ladies finger, pointed gourd, spine gourd, ridge gourd and leafy vegetables have not yet increased their prices substantially.

“Though the vegetables coming from Bangalore and Jharkhand are fetching good prices, the local farmers are not benefiting. They have to sell their products at low prices because production has been good. So, while retailers are getting a good price selling the vegetables in their locality, the wholesalers are selling them cheap,” said Chakradhar Biswal, a small trader from Mangalpur under Pipili block.

The local farmers have to sell at low price because unlike vegetables coming from Bangalore, the local vegetables are not stored in cold storages and the farmers are not organised.

City vendors and wholesalers are expecting a rise in price of essential commodities in the next seven days because of the diesel price hike. While some vendors of the city have already increased prices of essential commodities by Re 1, the traders apprehend a 10 per cent hike within seven days.

Vendors in Unit-I daily market, one of the busiest in the city, said that the current stock of commodities such as flour, sugar and pulses will last for another four to five days.

“As the diesel prices have gone up, the transportation cost will also increase and this will lead to a rise in the prices of essential commodities,” said Sudhakar Panda, secretary of Odisha Byabasayi Mahasangha, a traders association.

Sources said the transportation cost of essential commodities is likely to rise by two per cent. The city depends on Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal for commodities such as sugar, dry peas and pulses. Bhubaneswar has nearly 60 wholesale points and more than 12 lakh consumers.

“The price of groceries has increased in the past six months. A further rise will only add to our financial problems,” said Arundhati Das, a homemaker.