Why are the food and vegetables prices raising? – 5 ways to tackle these prises
Since the month of April, we have been noticing the surge in prices of all food items and vegetables as well. The Grocery prices have increased significantly. With this rise in prices, there are many families who are thinking they cannot afford food and vegetables items especially vegetables. In recent times the food and vegetables price in india has gone up. Tomato prices are higher than usual. Milk and dairy products prices also went up to the sky. There are several reasons behind this increase, and we need to understand them to choose better options.
Here are the reasons that may have a hand in these price hikes
Climate change and Extreme weather
In india weather is very unpredictable due to climate change. Because of this weather change patterns we are experiencing droughts, floods and storms every year. The farmers are not able to make most of the crop yields because of these weather conditions. They cannot be able to supply as per the demand. This results in price hikes as the supply decreases, but the demand still remains same then the prices will go up like anything. For example, the tomato prices are higher than usual since april month. The reason behind this hike is due to bad weather conditions like heavy rains damaged crops.
Production cost
Now a days farming is getting more and more expensive. The cost of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides is rising and also the fuel prices are very high these days. These result in making farming more expensive and in addition to that fuel prises affect the cost of transporting goods to market. If it costs more to produce and transport the produce, these extra expenses will be passed to consumers.
Supply chain
In Covid-19 pandemic time, we realised that how weak our global supply chains are. Because of lockdowns and restrictions, the growth of all countries has slowed steeply. This slow economic growth made so much of shortage to daily needs, this results in food and vegetables price hikes. When we cannot be able to deliver the goods as per the demand, the prices those goods can see higher numbers.
Increase In Demand
As we all know, the population is growing like anything and so many people are migrating to urban areas. These migrations result in less people involved in farming, and making people less interested in farming. And the demand for food is increasing with low supply. This results in food and vegetables prices.
Inflation and Economic policies
Government policies can also influence food prices. There are so many different subsidies, taxes and tariffs that can affect the prices of all essential goods. For example, if a country imports some vegetable, there will be many taxes and tariffs on that, making huge increase in prices. The Inflation is rising over the years, because of change in interest rates, supply and demand, and increase in raw material cost.
What we can do
5 ways to tacle these prices,
While we cannot control these price hikes, we can have some tricks to get cheaper prices for food items
Buying seasonal food items is cheaper because there may be so much supply.
Planning meals can help reducing food waste and cost for it.
If you have space, you can go for producing small quantities of vegetables, this can help you in getting food for cheaper and also you can have fresh vegetables.
We can buy some items in bulk, there we can get them somewhat cheaper.
Understanding the reasons that why prices of all essential goods are increasing, can help you make right choices and manage your budget more efficiently. These small changes and adjustments can make big difference in our daily routines and health.