The price of eggs, a cheap source of protein, has gone up by Re 1.50 apiece in a fortnight and the damage caused by Cyclone Yaas may push up vegetables prices, too.

The rise in the price of eggs, coupled with the damage to agricultural produce, threatens to hit the pocket hard. South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore have borne the brunt of the cyclone with large swathes of agricultural fields going under water.

The retail price of eggs has reached Rs 7 apiece, up from Rs 5.50 about 15 days back. Traders attributed the price rise to a shortfall in the supply of soybean cakes, a poultry feed.

“The wholesale price of eggs was Rs 6.05 on Thursday. The cost of production has gone up. Soybean cakes now sell at more than double the price a year ago. If large volumes are not imported, we have to wait till November when the new crop will be harvested. The prices will take a few more days to normalise,” said Madan Mohan Maity, the chairman of the West Bengal Zone of National Egg Coordination Committee.

Among the agricultural produce, green chillies are the biggest casualty — the bulk of the green chillies consumed in Calcutta and its adjoining areas comes from the two cyclone-affected districts.

Farmers said the storm also damaged fields that produce ladyfingers, ridge gourds, bottle gourds and cucumbers.

In South 24-Parganas, farmers said the most affected areas included Kakdwip, Patharpratima, Gosaba and Mathurapur. These areas are principal suppliers of green chillies and several other vegetables.

The devastation has been equally intense in many parts of East Midnapore, including Egra, which supplies large quantities of green chillies to the rest of Bengal as well as other states. The district's agricultural produce also includes ridge gourd, serpent gourd (chichinga) and ivy gourd (kundri).

“Thousands of acres of land with green chilli plants have been inundated in the two districts,” said Kamal Dey, the president of the West Bengal Vendors’ Association. “Over half of Calcutta's requirement of green chillies and that of its adjoining areas is met from the production in these two districts.”

According to officials in the agriculture department, Bengal produces nine-and-a-half to 10 lakh tonnes of green chillies annually. The state consumes 8 lakh tonnes.

“Green chillies have a very short shelf-life. They produce tremendous heat inside sacks and a considerable amount gets wasted,” said Alok Niyogi, a wholesaler in Sealdah's Koley market. “It is now being sold between Rs 30 and Rs 35 a kilo in wholesale markets. We are fearing an immediate surge in price.”

The prices of other items, including ladyfinger and all varieties of gourds, will also shoot up, wholesalers said.

“Thankfully, parts of Nadia, Hooghly and North 24-Parganas have been spared. That will ensure some flow of vegetables,” Dey said.