The prices of green chilli and ginger are still high despite efforts by the state government-appointed task force on vegetables to bring them down.

Farmers attributed the trend to scant supply of home-grown varieties and said the prices are unlikely to come down any time soon.

Across retail markets, including the ones in Gariahat, Maniktala, Beleghata, Behala and Sealdah, green chillies sold between ₹150 and ₹200 a kilo, compared with the price range of ₹90-100 a kilo in mid-July.

Many retailers said supplies from wholesale markets were dipping and farmers spoke about how green chilli plants withered right after flowering on large swathes of land in April and May because of extreme heat.

“Green chillies grown in parts of Basirhat, Beldanga, Canning and Kakdwip will start reaching the markets in another three weeks. Till then the prices of green chillies are likely to remain high,” said Kamal Dey, a task force member and the president of the West Bengal Vegetable Vendors’ Association.

Bengal produces around 10 lakh tonnes of green chilli yearly. It consumes about 8 lakh tonnes and the rest is supplied to other states.

Farmers in North and South 24-Parganas, Murshidabad and Hooghly said green chilli plants that had begun flowering between mid- April and May withered shortly thereafter because of the extreme heat and the unbroken dry spell prevailing then. Watering farmlands using shallow well pumps did not help.

“When the supply of home-grown chillies starts picking up, the wholesale market in Sealdah would receive around 20,000kg from different parts of the state every alternate day. Basirhat and its adjoining areas in North 24-Parganas alone would account for around 3,000kg,” said Bijay Shaw, a green chilli wholesaler at Sealdah’s Koley Market.

“Now, we are getting just about 500kg from Basirhat and its neighbouring areas.”

Canning in South 24-Parganas would send about 1,500kg on alternate days around this time in other years. The area is now supplying less than 200kg, traders said.

Green chillies also come from Arambagh in Hooghly, Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas and Karimpur in Nadia.

The shortfall in Bengal’s supply is barely met by what comes in from Katihar in Bihar.

“With the rain, plants across Basirhat, Kakdwip and Arambagh have started flowering. Hopefully, the supplies would start reaching in another three weeks and the prices would go down,” said a wholesaler at Koley Market.

There is no immediate silver lining for consumers of ginger, though. The possibility of the price going down is unlikely any time soon.

Ginger sold between ₹220 and ₹250 a kilo across retail markets in Calcutta on Tuesday.

“For ginger the state now depends on supplies from Chennai and Shillong. Bengal’s variety would be available in the markets only from September, when supplies from Siliguri and its adjoining areas start arriving,” Dey said.

Customers are cutting down on their purchases, vegetable sellers said.

“Daily buys have now become weekly purchases. Customers are now buying green chillies and ginger in much smaller quantities,” said Chittaranjan Saha, who runs a store in Gariahat.