Tomato Prices shoot to over Rs 90/Kg; Shallow Pockets Can’t Bear

With the onset of seasonal festivities, tomato prices have soared up to Rs 93/kg, as if the high prices of petrol and diesel weren’t enough already. Due to the unseasonal rains causing crop damage and slow arrival in mandis of tomatoes has basically led to this price rise.

In the metro cities of Delhi-Mumbai-Kolkata-Chennai was sold at Rs 59/kg, Rs 53/kg, Rs 93/kg and Rs 60/kg respectively.

The biggest irony to this situation is that India is the second largest producer of tomato in the world. According to National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, a staggering 19.75 million tonnes from an area of 7.89 lakh hectares with an average yield of 25.05 tonnes per hectare is produced in India.

Pan India Tomato Pricing

• As tracked by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, out of 175-odd cities, tomato prices have been more than Rs 50/kg.

• The wholesale market prices of tomato – Delhi Rs 29.50/kg, Mumbai Rs 30/kg, Kolkata Rs 84/kg and Chennai Rs 52/kg respectively

It takes 2-3 months for tomatoes to harvest and it is done as per the requirement of the market. But the larger credit in the price rise goes to the unseasonal rains in the key growing states which caused crop damage and poor arrival. On 16^th October, 241 tonnes of tomato arrived in Mumbai, which is less than 290 tonnes that arrived there a week ago. In Delhi and Kolkata, it was 528.9 tonnes and 545 tonnes respectively.

In the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, tomato harvesting is currently underway.

Evidently, covid and climate change have started showing their impacts on a common man. With the economy gone to a rapid drop and its slower revival has been the reason to worry for the common man. Meeting day-to-day needs of the family is getting difficult for the earning hand and will get worse if situations like this continue to persist and multiply.