The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : The poor cannot digest the price rise

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Sunday, Jun 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

The poor cannot digest the price rise

D. Ignatius Antony and his family.

Given the sharp rise in their prices, mutton, chicken and fish no longer seem to be meat and drink to non-vegetarians.

While upper middle class families still manage to bear the cost surge with a grudge, the middle class have apparently cut down on the quantity of purchase. To a major extent, the lower middle class have switched over to chicken. But for those in the l owest economic strata, these dishes have now become a distant dream.

Among these three favourite non-vegetarian items, fish has become the costliest. The extent of catch and the transportation cost determine the price. The sea fish (vanjeeram) which was selling at Rs.110 a kg a few months ago has now risen to Rs.300. The price of ‘parai’ fish has gone upto Rs.170 from Rs.70 and ‘viraal’ caught in the local tanks to Rs.220 from Rs.140. A kg of prawn is at present priced at Rs.210 per kg compared to Rs.150 a few months ago.

The price of a kilo of mutton (without bones) which was selling at Rs.170 a kg six months ago has now soared to Rs. 220-250. The cost of chicken has almost doubled in the open market – at present Rs.80-90 a kg, compared to Rs.45-50 during the beginning of this year. Not to be left behind, an egg, which was selling at Rs.1.50 to Rs.1.70, now costs Rs.2.20.

Another factor which discourages the weaker section from going in for non-vegetarian food is the parallel rise in the prices of the provisions needed for their favourite dish. The cost per kg of chillies stood at Rs.55, but it has now touched a whopping Rs.75.

Similar is the case of dhania, which has almost trebled from Rs.68 to Rs.100 during the same period. Overburdened customers have to bear the brunt of rise in the prices of palm oil from Rs.40 to Rs.60. The price of cumminseeds; khush khush, the essential spices for adding flavour to the dishes, too have sky-rocketed.

In non-vegetarian restaurants, the costs of the dishes have risen by 10 to 15 per cent, also because of the periodic increases in the price of commercial gas cylinders.

“We were spending a paltry Rs.400 per day for the firewood five years ago. At present we have to spend Rs.4,000 a day for the LPG cylinders and that too prices vary every month,” laments the owner of a leading non-vegetarian restaurant in the city.

Due to the increase in the transportation charges, the mutton stalls in the city have to pay an additional Rs.200 per goat, says the owner of Taj Mutton Stall at Melaputhur, S. Basheer.

“Since this is the off-season for the sale of meat, we have not increased the price so far. We will not be able to continue the business for long at this trend. Inevitably we will have to increase the price of mutton and chicken shortly,’ observed Mohamed Haneefa, another mutton stall owner of Subramaniapuram.

Goat rearing too has come down in and around Tiruchi district, another major cause for the steep hike. The arrival of goats in the shandys at Karur, Siruvachur, Samayapuram, Ulundurpettai, Pudukottai has dwindled due to various reasons – farmers find it difficult to rear the goats as grazing fields have been converted into plots or industrial units. Educated wards of the farmers switch over to other vocations, observed Mr. Basheer.

D. Ignatius Antony of Sangiliandapuram, a private company employee, has almost become a vegetarian, following the steep hike in the prices of non-vegetarian items. Visiting hotels has also become a thing of the past for this family of three.

“Of late we rarely go for non-vegetarian dishes and even during the visit of the relatives we prefer chicken, rather than the other two costly items,” he says.

The same is the case for the family of Rajagopal, a contract employee at the Tiruchi airport cargo section. Non-vegetarian items are no longer a part of their meal.

“We only prefer chicken, that too rarely, these days as it is the cheapest,” he says. His wife R. Chellammal is running a small laundry which fetches additional Rs.2,000 income every month.

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