By Maheesha Mudugamuwa As newly harvested crops from upcountry and northern farms begin to reach the market, prices of vegetables and grain have begun to stabilise. However, the delay in the monsoon rains across the country has resulted in a delay to ensure the prices drop. The prices of beans, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, brinjals, pumpkin, and snake gourd are selling at a staggering 250% higher rate compared with prices last year. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) Daily Price Report on Friday (31), the retail price of a kilogramme of beans at the Pettah Market was Rs. 320. Even though the price has slightly come down from Rs. 400 as at 31 December 2019, it’s still around 250% higher than last year. As on 31 January 2019, the price of a kilogramme of beans was around Rs. 130. Similarly, the prices of all other vegetables are also still high in the market as of Friday (31 January), compared to the prices during the corresponding period last year. Brief analysis The retail prices of a kilogramme of carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, brinjals, pumpkin, and snake gourd as at 31 January 2020 was at Rs. 450, Rs. 160, Rs. 390, Rs. 100, Rs. 140, and Rs. 160 respectively at the Pettah Market. However, the prices of the same vegetables as at 31 January 2019 were Rs. 117, Rs. 70, Rs. 83, Rs. 103, Rs. 50, and Rs. 77. Comparatively, on 31 December 2019, the prices were Rs. 400, Rs. 170, Rs. 120, Rs. 325, Rs. 80, and Rs. 190 respectively. When analysing the retail market prices of 31 January 2020, 31 January 2019, and 31 December 2019, it is clear that some of the vegetable prices have reduced when compared to last December, while the prices are still much higher than that of last January. Furthermore, retail prices at the Pettah Market on Friday of samba, nadu, kekulu white, and kekulu red were at Rs. 98, Rs. 98, Rs. 105, and Rs. 115 per kilogramme respectively. When compared to the corresponding period last year, the prices had still been high, even though the harvesting of the Maha Season had begun in the Eastern Province and the other parts of the country. The prices of the same group of rice varieties as at 31 January 2019 stood at Rs. 110, Rs. 90, Rs. 90, and Rs. 80 respectively. The analysis clearly indicates that the prices have not changed yet, when compared to the prices as at 31 December last year. According to a trader, crops have just started to reach the markets. “We expect the prices to go down by next week. This year, it is a bit unusual that the prices are still high. Last week too we expected the prices to go down, but the supply was not as much as we expected,” he explained. As The Sunday Morning noticed, not only the prices of rice and vegetables but also other daily essentials such as onions were still selling at higher rates at retail markets. In this regard, Ramya Perera, a housewife in Dematogoda, said: “Onions have been bringing tears for the past few months; the rise in the prices of other vegetables has also affected my kitchen budget.” According to the CBSL, as at Friday, a kilogramme of red onions sold at the Pettah Market was priced at Rs. 335 while the imported big onions were sold at Rs. 125. However, the prices of red onions and big onions during the same period last year were only Rs. 130 and Rs. 62, respectively. When compared to that of last December, the prices have gone down but they have not fully recovered to what it was in January last year. Perera, a mother of two and whose husband works at a private company in Colombo, told The Sunday Morning: “Not only the prices of vegetables, rice, and onions, but the prices of other essentials too have skyrocketed.” She lamented that with only one small salary, her family hardly managed the daily expenses. “Only my husband works, and the salary he earns is not enough; after paying the utility bills, bank loan, and house rent, we are left with nothing. I recently started making short eats part-time, with which we mostly cover the daily expenses,” Perera continued. According to CBSL statistics, the wholesale prices of other daily essentials such as coconut (per nut), coconut oil (per litre), dhal (per kilogramme), sugar (per kilogramme), eggs (each), dried fish, and sprats were at Rs. 60, Rs.370, Rs. 128, Rs. 98, Rs. 18.50, Rs. 880, and Rs. 550 respectively. However, when compared to that of last January, the prices were slightly lower or remained the same; the prices of the same group of essentials were at Rs. 40, Rs. 340, Rs. 118, Rs. 96, Rs. 18.50, Rs. 880, and Rs. 500 respectively. According to a retailer at the Pettah Market, green vegetables usually become cheaper at the start of the year. But that’s not the case this year as prices of most vegetables were still high. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, All Island Farmers’ Federation (AIFF) National Organiser Namal Karunaratne said new stocks were still reaching the markets and most probably the prices would go down by next week. He predicted that the prices would go down dramatically, where the farmers wouldn’t be able to sell their harvest. “The prices of vegetables and rice will go down in the coming weeks as the production has started to come to the markets and the paddy harvesting of the Maha Season has also started in several areas. Next month, the prices will go down drastically and again the farmers will be in trouble. They will not be able to sell the bumper harvest. They have increased the extent with the vegetable prices going up and when suddenly the production comes to the market, the prices will go down,” Karunaratne said. Meanwhile, according to State Minister of Agriculture Vidura Wickramanayake, the high prices during the season were not unusual as the situation last year too was quite similar.