The rising price of fuel over the last few weeks has resulted in a hike in the prices of vegetables and other items that come to Calcutta from a distance.

Capsicum, which cost Rs 60 a kg in March, is now selling between Rs 100 and Rs 110 a kg at retail markets.

On Tuesday, green chillies sold for Rs 90 a kg, compared with Rs 50 a kg in March. Brinjal sold for Rs 80 a kg on Tuesday, compared with Rs 50 three months back.

The price of chicken has gone up from Rs 180 a kilo a few months back to Rs 250 a kilo.

Across markets in Calcutta, retailers said vegetable prices were unusually high around this time compared to previous years.

Transportation of vegetables from wholesale markets — such as Koley market in Sealdah — is costing them nearly double even though lesser volume is being fetched per trip.

“Earlier, we would bring around five tonnes of vegetables from Sealdah to Behala for Rs 600. Now we are paying Rs 1,200 for two tonnes,” said Sadhan Maity, a vegetable seller from Behala.

“Transporters are citing the rising diesel price. Customers have stopped buying in bulk. We are forced to sell vegetables at a much higher price compared to wholesale rates for the sake of our survival.”

A litre of diesel sold in Calcutta for Rs 92.27 on Tuesday, a rise of nearly Rs 15 since January 1.

Not just vegetables like capsicum and beans that are sourced from Karnataka, even the ones that are grown in the state have become costlier because of the rise in the fuel price.

Wholesalers across most mandis in Calcutta said the transportation cost of around six tonnes of vegetables from Bagdah and Basirhat in North 24-Parganas had shot up from Rs 5,000 a few months back to around Rs 8,000.

As a result, the prices of pointed gourd and lady's finger in wholesale markets have gone up from Rs 20 and Rs 25 a kilo to Rs 30 and Rs 35 a kilo, respectively.

In retail markets, the price of pointed gourd has gone up from Rs 40 a kilo to around Rs 70. Similar is the rise in the price of lady’s finger.

However, the prices of some vegetables such as ridge gourd, bitter gourd and cucumber have gone down because of bumper harvest in North and South 24-Parganas and Nadia.

The rising prices of most vegetables are burning a hole in the pockets of most customers. Retailers said bulk purchase was almost gone and customers who would earlier buy four or five kilos of vegetables are now settling for two kilos.

“Earlier, around 150 trucks and Matadors would line up outside Koley Market at night. Now, there are barely 50 vehicles,” said Kamal Dey, the president of the West Bengal Vendors Association.

As for the rise in the price of chicken, poultry farmers are attributing the trend to the rise in the transportation of poultry feeds from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

“A truckload of soy-feed would earlier cost Rs 60,000. Now, it’s Rs 72,000,” said Madan Mohan Maity of the West Bengal Poultry Federation.