Bhubaneswar, July 18: Customers are moving around in market places with long faces. With prices of most vegetables shooting through the roof, the domestic budget has taken a painful hit.

Erratic rainfall in the past two months has jacked up vegetable prices in the state.

The price of ladies finger, which was Rs 15 per kg at Unit-I market last week, has shot up to Rs 30 now. Even the price of potatoes, which was Rs 16 per kg a couple of weeks ago, has increased enough to stretch the household budget.

Srimanta Jena, 32, a resident of Hanspal, said prices of tomato, ridge gourd and ladies finger had skyrocketed in the city. Beans that were already topping the charts at Rs 70 per kg a few days ago now cost Rs 80 per kg. Brinjal, too, has become dearer at Rs 50 per kg. "This time of year, the price of ladies finger comes down considerably. It had come down to Rs 10 per kg even a few weeks ago," Jena said.

Though the price of tomato has fallen to Rs 30 per kg from Rs 60, it still remains one of the costliest vegetables in the city markets.

General secretary of the Federation of All Odisha Traders Associations, Sudhakar Panda said incessant rain in May and scarce showers in June have affected the growth of vegetables in the green basket of the state - Balasore, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur.

"Though many vegetables are procured from other states, the situation there is also not bright. Rainfall in Andhra Pradesh has been similar to Odisha. Therefore the supply of vegetables such as brinjal and ridge gourd has been affected. However, the price will fall once there is adequate rainfall in July and August," said Panda.

Ashalata Kar, 50, a homemaker and resident of GGP Colony, said: "Though the traders blame monsoon for the rise in prices, lack of proper storage and failure to check practices of unscrupulous traders creates this situation."

Potato, which was sold at Rs 16 per kg a couple of weeks ago, is available at Rs 20 per kg.

"Potato is consumed in large quantities and even a slight increase in the price affects the middleclass budget," said Shyamali Kar, 35, a banker and resident of Saheed Nagar.

Panda said potato prices might fall when fresh produce is sourced from Bengal. Onion prices, which is now Rs 18 per kg at Unit-I market, too, will fall, he said.

"Traders in Nashik are on an agitation that may end tomorrow. Once the stalemate ends, the price of onion will fall," he said.

He said the price would come down to Rs 14-15 per kg.

Panda said the state government should provide facilities to farmers so that Odisha does not have to depend on other states. "Besides providing the farmers with better returns, incentives such as good quality seeds, fertilizer and irrigation can keep the price of vegetables in check," he said.

The state agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja said the phenomenon was "seasonal and nationwide". He added that the prices of vegetables would come down once procurement was streamlined.