Price of vegetables, pulses doubled over a year but salaries have not increased

With the average income remaining almost the same for over a year now due to the economic slowdown, middle class families are struggling to meet rising food costs.

Take the case of Jasbir Kaur whose family depends solely on her son’s income of Rs 25, 000 a month. Kaur’s family has had to cut down on milk consumption considerably to curtail household expenditure.

“Almost all vegetables have become more expensive. We were spending Rs 1000 to Rs 1,200 on vegetables last year, but now we spend over Rs 2000,” said Jasbir Kaur. “We can hardly cut down on food. But we do not buy more than 1.5 litres of milk a day. Earlier, we would buy up to Rs 2.5 litres,” Kaur said. The cost of milk has gone up by Rs 2 more per litre compared to last year.

The expenditure on food has doubled for most families over the last year due to rising costs of vegetables and pulses. Most families are spending Rs 600 to Rs 900 extra on vegetables for each month.

Apart from cabbage and tomato, all other vegetables are selling between Rs 30 to Rs 50 per kg in retail. Everyday items like potatoes and onions cost between Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg. Beetroot comes for Rs 25 per kg.

Vegetable vendors agree that a family of four would have to spend at least Rs 20 more per day, if they had to consume the same quantity of vegetables as last year.

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