Kerala   

Household budget goes haywire

The prices of fish have gone up with the trawling ban coming into effect in Kerala on June 14.

The trawling ban has triggered an increase in the price of meat and eggs and, in turn, upset the family’s household budget.

“The prices of vegetables are up and the price of milk is on the rise. How can I give nutrient food to my children? To add our woes, the prices of eggs and bananas have also gone up. This has put the salaried people in a fix,” says Reeja Babitha, a homemaker and teacher residing at Puthiyangadi. Swarnam Rajan, a homemaker at Mankavu, also feels that the current price rise makes it difficult to manage the monthly budget of the family. An egg is priced at Rs.2.25 in the retail market with some merchants charging up to Rs.2.50 for an egg.

The rise in the price of egg is attributed to the dip in production of eggs in Namakkal in Tamil Nadu and the high demand for egg there. The input cost for rearing chicken has also increased. Duck egg, on the other hand, is priced at Rs.4 for an egg, an increase from Rs.3.25 to Rs.3.50 for an egg in the retail market.

The price of chicken has gone up to Rs.85 to Rs.90 a kg. Mutton is now Rs.170 a kg. The prices of vegetables are also on the increase.

“The prices of vegetables usually go up during the monsoon,” says A. Pavithran, vegetable merchant. The price of carrot is now Rs.32 a kg after having hovered between Rs.20 and Rs.40 for the past couple of weeks.

The price of lady’s finger is Rs.20 a kg. Tomato, which was priced between Rs.8 and Rs.10 a month ago, now costs Rs.20 a kg. Cucumber costs Rs.15, while earlier it was priced at Rs.5 or Rs.6 for a kg.

Green chilli costs Rs.20, down from Rs.30 a day ago. Onion is Rs.16 a kg up from Rs.10 a week or two ago. Potato is Rs.14 while it was only Rs.10 two weeks ago.

The snake gourd costs now Rs.15 up from Rs.5 to Rs.6 some two weeks ago.

J.S. Bablu

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