Housewives feel the sting of rising diesel prices

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 18

Surging diesel prices have raised transportation costs of fruits, vegetables and other consumables by around 25% in the past three months, severely hitting kitchen budget of housewives.

In the past three months, diesel rates have jumped by Rs 6-7 per litre depending on location of pumps, which had a spiralling effect on the prices of commodities consumed by common people, transporters operating in the northern region said. Diesel, which was sold at Rs 67.38 per litre on July 1, is currently priced at Rs 73.78 per litre in Delhi.

While diesel is marginally cheaper in Chandigarh (Rs 71.82 a litre) compared to Delhi, it is costlier in Ludhiana (Rs 74 a litre) and Gurugram (Rs 74.82 a litre). According to transporters operating in the northern states, the fuel is much expensive in Mumbai (Rs 78.42 a litre), the hub that supplies raw materials and consumables to the region.    

High fuel prices are immediately passed on to consumers, Chandigarh-based traders said. They said prices of transportation in the region are also high because of high demand of trucks transporting apples from Himachal. “Freight rate of a Chandigarh to Delhi-bound truck (15 tonnes) was Rs 9,000 in July, which is now around Rs 12,000,” BL Sharma, general secretary, Chandigarh Transport Association, said.

Prices of fruits and vegetables have increased by almost 20-30% without any supply crunch from the farms, wholesale vegetable vendors said. “Normally, the prices of fruits and vegetables start softening from the first week of September. But, high transportation cost is preventing the fall in rates this time,” said Manish Kumar, a Chandigarh-based vegetable and fruit vendor.

According to vendors, the impact of high transportation cost is between Rs 10-Rs 20 per quintal. Experts say the cost of white goods may also go up, as freight comprises 10-15% of the cost of consumer durables.

Transporters say fuel accounts for 65% of their overall operational cost. “Whenever fuel price goes up, our operational cost also goes up,” said a transporter operating in Punjab.

For now, farmers who use diesel-powered pumps and diesel-powered tractors will see their profits decline. In due course, higher farming and freight costs will have to be passed on to consumers.

The regular freight hikes add to high cost of goods and services. Experts say MSMEs have been the worst sufferers as the prices of transporting raw materials and finished goods have gone up by 20-25% as compared to the corresponding period previous year.