Prices of fish, eggs, vegetables and fruits are set to go up further as a result of the truck strike in North and South India.

The strike in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has cut off the city’s supply of onion, mango, fish and eggs, said Tarak Nath Trivedi of the Federation of Traders Organisation.

The secretary of the Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators’ Association, Satyajit Majumdar, said over 10,000 trucks enter Calcutta daily from different states. The figure is likely to fall below 5,000 as a result of the strike.

“The truckers in West Bengal are not taking part in the nation-wide strike. But it will have an impact on the local market,” added Majumdar.

The Confederation of Goods Vehicles Owners’ Association called the nation-wide strike to protest “arbitrary toll tax, hike in diesel price, service tax on goods booking agencies and fleecing by police”.

If the strike continues through the week, consumers, already hit by the price rise due to other factors, will feel the pinch even more from the next.

“The prices will go up from Monday if the truck strike is not withdrawn,” said Samir Kumar Ojha, a trader in New Market. “Calcutta and its suburbs are dependent on South India for supply of rohu and katla.”

If this supply stops, price of kata pona in the retail market will go up to Rs 180 per kilogram, said Abhisek Das, a wholesaler at Patipukur fish market.

Fruit merchants of Mechhua fear a loss of Rs 50 lakh per day as this is the peak season of the UP variety of langra. Over 300,000 kg of langra mangoes from UP enter the Mechhua fruit market by truck daily, said Mohammad Sohrub of Mechhua Wholesale Fruit Merchants Association.

According to him, supply from North 24-Parganas, Murshidabad, Hooghly, Nadia and Malda meets only 12 per cent of the total demand for mangoes in Calcutta.

“If the truck strike continues till Sunday, the mango price will go up. Since mango is a perishable seasonal fruit, its price per kilogram will climb up by Rs 15 in the city, while its price in UP will go down by Rs 20,” Sohrub said.

Shortage in supply will force egg prices up in the retail market if the truck strike in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu continues till Sunday, according wholesale egg merchants in Sealdah.

“About 60 per cent of city’s egg supply comes from South India,” said Rabindranath Das, an egg merchant in Sealdah.