1 week Ago By Priya Kothari
Pune: Dry fruits like almonds and cashews are likely to get more expensive as Diwali comes closer and wholesalers as well as retailers said prices are already inching up since the last two months. Prajakta Kulkarni , who makes fresh kaju katli and modaks to serve during Ganesh festival, said prices of cashews had increased by as much as Rs100 per kg. "Every year, I usually purchase dry fruits in bulk in Aug so that I can make fresh sweets during festivals.
This year, prices have been increasing monthly since May," she said. Vendors said supply shortage had led to the price rise. "The quantity of stock coming from overseas has reduced over the last few months.
Cashews, which were selling at Rs760 per kg, are at Rs880 now. Almond prices have increased by about Rs50 per kg," said Kunal Fulsagar, owner of Kunal Dryfruit in Gultekdi. A lot of people were shifting to broken cashews now.
"I bought broken cashews this year, since its price is similar to that of whole cashews earlier. I have substituted it in my preparations," said Sarita Deshmukh, a resident of Kothrud. Ghansham Jamba, owner of Guru Gobind Dryfruit in Market Yard, said the demand had been impacted because of higher prices.
"The cost of other dry fruits, like walnuts, pista, etc, have been stable. We expect prices of almonds and cashews to be on the higher side because of lack of supply in the market," he said. Vendors said prices of dry fruits would be a tad higher closer to Diwali since demand for dry fruits and assorted dry fruit boxes was more during the particular festive period.
"People are buying smaller quantities, at present. Prices are expected to increase by at least 10% as we approach Diwali," said Bhavesh Desai, who runs New Dry Fruit on Salunkhe Vihar Road. Meanwhile, consumers are opting for healthy alternatives like seed and date-based sweets and homemade cocoa nut balls keeping the surging prices in mind.
"Till last year, I used to buy dry fruits and make sweets to offer to my guests. For this Ganesh festival, I have offered my homemade churma laddoos, cocoa balls, and namkeens as dry fruits have become very expensive," said Saloni Gupta, a resident of Kondhwa..
