Ginger turns dearer as supply dampens

Known for enhancing the flavours of numerous dishes, particularly non-vegetarian ones, ginger is one of the most important and essential ingredients found in kitchens.

Hyderabad: Known for enhancing the flavours of numerous dishes, particularly non-vegetarian ones, ginger is one of the most important and essential ingredients found in kitchens.

However, the soaring prices have caused ginger to vanish from people’s plates.

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Households in the city are grappling with the supply shortage due to the fall in the production of ginger in Telangana and other states. The skyrocketing prices are forcing people to buy ginger in smaller quantities.

Earlier, the Osmangunj ginger market used to receive substantial quantities of ginger from the Kerala, Karnataka, and Zaheerabad area of Telangana. But now, there has been a significant decrease in the amount of ginger arriving at the market lately.

Traders at the Osmangunj ginger market explain that the lack of interest in ginger cultivation among farmers in Kerala and Karnataka, coupled with unseasonal rains, resulted in a rise in the price of the aromatic spice. Due to the supply shortage in the market, traders are visiting different districts of Telangana to procure ginger.

According to a commission agent at Osmangunj, the prices started rising since April this year. The price of ginger increased from about Rs 150 a kilogram to Rs 250 in the last few months in the city.

At present, in the retail market, a kilogram of ginger is available at prices ranging from Rs 220 to 250 per kilogram, depending on the quality. On online grocery platforms, the prices seem to be much higher, with the cost of a kilogram of ginger exceeding Rs 300.

The situation has left commission agents, traders, and vendors in the city uncertain about when the prices will decrease.