The Gowri-Ganesha festivities are to be an affordable affair for Bengalureans this year. Commodity prices have dropped compared to the rather expensive Varamahalakshmi festival last month.
Vendors in KR Market say they received a steady supply of goods over the last two weeks that helped stabilise the prices.
“Prices have been regular over the past weeks. We cannot stock perishable goods and increase prices. We have no supply shortage. So the supply-demand ratio has been consistent irrespective of the festive season,” said Nagaraj, a fruit vendor at the market.
Hopcoms managing director
B N Prasad confirmed the consistency of prices. “Elakki bananas saw a slight price increase due to high demand. Only pomegranate and apple have been expensive over the past month, costing about Rs 130 per kg. Apples coming from all over India incur high transportation costs impacting the prices. Pomegranate saw a low yield this season,” he said.
According to Prasad, vegetable prices will see negligible differences, with the exception of onions and beans. “Unfortunately, onion crop yield this year has been poor in Karnataka, which has seen an increase of Rs 10-15 over the last two weeks. Another popular vegetable that we use in many traditional dishes during the festival is beans, which has seen a similar price rise,” he added.
Price of betel leaves almost doubled from that of last week. Traditional bamboo baskets offered as bagina during the Gowri festival cost Rs 130 a pair.
Flower vendors say prices have been increasing over the last week but will not be as high as seen during the Varamahalakshmi festival. “Comparatively, it is pocket-friendly. There is a slight fluctuation in supply as we receive a large portion of our goods from drought-ridden Tamil Nadu which has only been receiving rain over the last 15 days,” said Prasant, a flower vendor.