The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) traders supplying vegetables to the industry canteens across the city on an annual contract basis are a worried lot now. The soaring prices of vegetables have nearly put them out of business.

These traders supply vegetables to canteens at a fixed price as per the tender, but lately the prices of most vegetables have been seeing unprecedented highs; as a result many of them are bearing losses to the tune of lakhs of rupees each month.

“Prices of most vegetables have increased by 50 per cent over the past one year,” said Ramachandra Konde of Konde Brothers, a firm that supplies vegetables to catering companies who in turn supply food to industry canteens. “Over the past few months, I have been incurring a loss of Rs 2 lakh each month. If hospitality companies do not revise the tender prices, we may have to pull out of the contracts very soon.”

Pratap Nikam of Apulki Enterprises has been in the business of supplying vegetables to a catering firm that supplies food to over 15 major companies in the city for 13 years. “For the first time, I did not renew my contract as the losses were insurmountable,” he said.

Nikam was forced to supply potato at Rs 8 a kg to the companies, but a kilo of potato at the APMC costs Rs 16 now. He says after supplying vegetables worth Rs 7.5 lakh a month, his net return is only Rs 6 lakh.

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