Over the last two months, the cost of tomatoes in India has been a rollercoaster. Thanks to the unexpected heatwave followed by heavy rainfall and subsequent pest influx, the tomato yield was severely affected, driving prices up across the country. The latest development sees another 50% jump in prices across the country from last week.
The current climbing prices have been attributed to transportation challenges with heavy rains delaying shipment. As an Azadpur Mandi wholesaler, Sanjai Bhagat told PTI, “There is a lot of difficulty in the transportation of vegetables due to landslides and heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh. It takes 6 to 8 hours more than usual in the exportation of vegetables from the producers, which might result in the price of tomatoes reaching nearly Rs 300 per kilogram,”
The government measures for subsidised tomatoes brought temporary respite and in the last week or so the prices had settled – albeit still at a much higher rate than usual – with other products like ginger and cumin stealing the spotlight. But now tomatoes are all set for a fresh price hike.
As per a PTI report, the price of tomatoes in Delhi has surged to Rs 250-260 per kilo with Bulandshahr being the most pricy at Rs. 263 per kilo. In Kolkata prices have touched Rs. 192, and in Mumbai, it stands at Rs. 157. The average all-India price is estimated at Rs. 137. In South India the prices are faring better thanks to the arrival of around 64,690 in Bengaluru combined with decreased demand in Kerala and Chennai.
The results of this tomato issue have been manifold with a 300 per cent spike in retail rates, consumers paying anything between Rs. 100 - 200 for a kilo of tomatoes, big franchise restaurants making adjustments to accommodate for the poor quality product available and farmers earning multiple times their usual income as weeks go on.
As per a statement from Anil Malhotra, a member of the Azadpur Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), this in tandem with a decreased supply and demand for the crop is fuelling the challenges for vendors and exacerbating the issues. With no current solution consumers and vendors alike are just planning to wait out this shortage and adjust as things develop.