• ₹20 for 250g of tomato
• ₹30 for 250g of brinjal

Retailers are quoting the price of smaller amounts of vegetables, instead of the price per kilogram, so customers are not scared away by the exorbitant rates.

Conversations with residents from across the city as well as visits by Metro to several markets on Wednesday revealed that the retailers were quoting the price of 250g or 300g of vegetables.

“Take 250g of tomato for ₹20 or 500g for ₹30,” a seller told a prospective buyer at the Gariahat market on Wednesday morning. At the Jadavgarh market in Kasba, a retailer quoted the price of pointed gourd in a similar manner — ₹30 for 300g.

The retailers this newspaper spoke to blamedthe long spell of heat in April and May for the price hike. They said the weather destroyed the plants, whichreduced the supply and resulted in a demand-supply mismatch.

“We had a very long spell of high temperatures and dry days during summer. There was no rain for a long time. The weather destroyed the plants before the harvest,” said Madhu Saha, a retailer at the Gariahat market.

“That is one of the reasons why the tomato and green chilli prices have soared so much,” Saha said.

Tomatoes were selling at ₹80 a kilo in most markets on Wednesday. The price touched ₹200 a kilo a few days back but has fallen since. About two months back, tomatoes sold for ₹40 a kilo.

A resident of Sovabazar said retailers at Notun Bazar on Beadon Street werequoting the price of 500g of potato. “They are shouting ‘potato for ₹20’. It was only when someone was asking that they were saying the price was for 500g,” the Sovabazar resident said.

The Chandramukhi variety of potato sold for ₹40 a kilo in most markets on Wednesday. About two months ago, the variety sold for ₹24 a kilo, said retailers.

The sellers, however, said the task force, set up to control prices, should visit thecentres from where potatoes are procured. “We bought 50kg sacks for ₹1,610 today (Wednesday). About 2kg from each sack is wasted because they are rotten or damaged. Our buying price is around ₹35 a kilo. Can we sell at a price less than ₹40 a kilo?” askeda retailer at the Gariahatmarket.

“The city gets the bulk of its potato supply from Tarakeswar, in Hooghly district. If the government is really interested in controlling the prices, they should visit the centres of production.”

Kaushik Pradhan, a vegetable retailer at the Lansdowne market, said: “Bigger brinjals are being sold for around ₹150 a kilo. No one will buy brinjal if they hear that price. So I am quoting the price of smaller amounts to attract customers.”

The price of the standard variety of brinjal had shot up to Rs 160 a kilo. It has now come down to Rs 120, the retailer said.

Also, he said, customers are buying vegetables in smaller amounts because of the steep prices. “I used to procure four crates of tomato every day till about two months ago. Nowadays, I am procuring only a single crate at a time,” Pradhan said.