The prices of vegetables and fruits have gone high-sky. Potato are available at Rs 100kg, onion at Rs 60 to 70, lady finger at Rs 100kg, Tinda at Rs 100kg, peas at Rs 200 per kg, eggs at Rs 100 to 108 per dozen. The change in weather has multiplied the demand for eggs and chicken in the twin cities and with it the prices of these food items have also surged. Cold weather induces people to use boiled eggs and make chicken soups.
This trend throughout the country increased the demand for poultry products, said a resident Zakir Usmani. He said the majority of people used eggs daily in breakfast, but now they would have to go for an alternative energy source. Whereas, the prices of dry fruits have also registered an upward trend, owing to their increasing demand in the city. A large number of people are thronging different dry fruit markets to purchase dry fruits, especially almond, walnut, peanut, dry apricot, dates, roasted peas, fig and pistachio. "Due to the increasing demand of dry fruits, the shopkeepers and vendors have raised their prices, making it quiet difficult for a common man to buy them," Javed Shad, a resident of Samijaabad said.
According to a survey of various markets, the price of almond has increased from Rs 750 per kg to Rs 800 per kg, while the price of good quality almonds has increased from Rs 900 per kg to Rs 1,000 per kg. A shopkeeper at Gulshan Market claimed that the sale of dry fruits had been cut down by 25 to 30 per cent as compared to the last year because of the increasing prices.