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@article{202419,
        author = {Purab GUPTA and Rana Basu},
        title = {Supply Chain Perspective on Sudden Vegetable Price Hikes: Causes, Impacts and Corrective Measures},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {12},
        pages = {9105-9121},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=202419},
        abstract = {Vegetable price volatility is one of the most persistent and socially disruptive manifestations of supply chain fragility in developing and emerging economies. Unlike manufactured goods, fresh vegetables are subject to unique biological, climatic, logistical and market forces that interact in complex, non-linear ways to produce sudden and dramatic price spikes. These episodes of price inflation impose disproportionate hardship on low-income urban households, erode purchasing power, fuel inflationary pressures across broader food systems and undermine farmer income security.
This dissertation investigates vegetable price hikes through a supply chain lens, examining the upstream, midstream and downstream factors that contribute to price instability. Drawing on a mixed-methods research approach, the study combines secondary data analysis of price trends and supply chain indices with primary qualitative insights gathered through structured literature review and case-based analysis of documented price shock events in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The findings reveal that sudden vegetable price hikes are rarely the result of a single cause. Rather, they emerge from the confluence of supply disruptions (weather events, pest infestations, input cost surges), structural weaknesses in cold chain and logistics infrastructure, market power asymmetries between farmers and intermediaries, speculative behaviour and policy failures including export bans, hoarding incentives, and inadequate market intelligence systems.
The dissertation also analyses the multi-dimensional impacts of price hikes: nutritional consequences for consumer households, economic distress for smallholder farmers locked out of price gains, macroeconomic inflationary cascades, and social unrest. In response, the study evaluates a portfolio of corrective measures spanning supply-side interventions (crop diversification, climate-resilient agriculture), infrastructure investment (cold chain, rural roads), market reforms (transparent price discovery, regulated mandis), information systems (real-time market data platforms), and policy frameworks (buffer stock schemes, targeted subsidies).
The study concludes that durable price stability requires a systems-level transformation of vegetable supply chains-moving from fragmented, opaque, and intermediary-dominated structures to integrated, transparent, and farmer-centric networks. Recommendations are offered for policymakers, agri-businesses, NGOs, and supply chain practitioners seeking to build resilient and equitable food supply systems.},
        keywords = {vegetable price volatility, supply chain resilience, cold chain infrastructure, food inflation, agricultural market reform, smallholder farmers, price hike corrective measures},
        month = {May},
        }