IN restaurants in Mumbai that little bowl of peanuts and the couple of papads or cucumber sticks diners got free before their meal have disappeared. With the rise in prices, we are trying to save costs in every area, says Santosh Shetty, president of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association in Mumbai.
Shetty says the prices of vegetables, cooking oil and cooking gas have gone up in the past six months but we have not passed on the increase to the customer. Neither did we pass on the 12.5 per cent Value Added Tax to the customer. Now, we will have to increase the rates.
A cup of tea in Mumbai costs Rs.6 or Rs.7 now. Shetty says the association expects it to go up to Rs.10. A cup of coffee costs anything between Rs.10 and Rs.15 and is expected to go up to Rs.20. A vegetarian meal costs between Rs.30 and Rs.35. This could go up to Rs.50, says Mihir Kanodia, a restaurateur in Colaba (South Mumbai).
A retailer in Bandra says many of his customers from the middle-income group now ask the price of the rice they usually buy and compare it with other varieties before deciding to buy. He says Kolam rice (a popular brand in this region) used to be Rs.28 a kilogram. Now it costs Rs.34. Since customers are used to buying rice at Rs.28 a kg, they switch to one available for that price, he adds.
Prices have been increasing over the past six months, but only now there is a hue and cry because the elections are approaching, says Sharad Maru, a grain trader and the president of the Grain, Rice and Oilseeds Merchants Association (GROMA). Instead of giving loan waivers, the government should look at methods of increasing the per-acre yield of farmers, he says. For decades the per-acre yield has been stagnant. How can we meet the demand if long-term measures are not put in place? he asks.
Mohan Gurnani, a sugar trader and the president of the Federation of Associations, an umbrella organisation for retail and wholesale traders in Mumbai, blames forward trade for the price increase. There is plenty of sugar available but still its price has gone up. This is because of speculation and forward trading.
Prabhakar Mane, chairman of Apna Bazaar Cooperative in Mumbai, says the crisis is mainly on account of corporate buying at the farmers level. Ever since corporates got into farming and began buying directly from farmers, prices have been increasing, he says. He cites the example of tomatoes: Those that make tomato ketchup are buying up all the good stock. Food-making MNCs [multinational corporations] are now permitted to manufacture in the country and they are able to pay top prices to the farmer. This means there is not enough for the open market, which results in a shortage that ultimately leads to a price rise.
Never before, except when onion prices shot up, have we had to worry so much about food, says Radhabai, who works as a domestic. Her husband Ganesh works as a security guard at night and washes cars early in the morning. They live in a slum and are dependent on ration supplies for their food. We have always bought the cheapest vegetables because we are poor, but now I am even more careful. Things like tomatoes and carrots are a luxury.
Leela Kapoor, a widow, enjoys cooking for her three grandchildren who she baby-sits at least twice a week. Her three children often meet for a meal at her place. I am feeling the pinch now, she says. Earlier I would just phone the vegetable vendor and order what I wanted without asking the price. Now I ask him how much it is before ordering. Beans, for instance, are Rs.40 a kg, rajma is Rs.70. That is a ridiculous price to pay, she says.
David DSouza, a salesman for a pharmaceutical company, lives in Malad. He is the only earning member of his family. DSouza says he always bought vegetables and fruits on his way home from work. He was told that if he went late in the evening the prices would be the lowest. These days even those prices are high. Tomatoes, which were Rs.15 in the regular market and Rs.10 a kg after 8 p.m., are now Rs.15 after 8 p.m.
Anupama KatakamCOMMents
COMMents
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