Due to delayed monsoon, Tomatoes prices may cross ₹100/KG: Report

Severe short supply of tomatoes due to deficit rainfall may drive the prices to over ₹100/KG, reported The Hindu. Last week, tomatoes were sold at ₹80/KG.

As per The Hindu, a 15-kg crate of tomatoes was sold for ₹1,100 in Kolar wholesale APMC market on Sunday and this is expected to further drive up the price in the retail market.

A farmer told the publication that the sowing itself was lower this year compared to the previous year. He also mentioned that farmers switched to beans this year as the price of beans skyrocketed last year.

“The sowing of tomato this year is lower than the previous years, for various reasons. Many farmers in Kolar shifted to beans this year, as the price of beans skyrocketed last year. However, due to deficient monsoons crops have dried up and wilted. The tomato crop in the district may be only 30% of the usual,” said Anji Reddy, a tomato farmer from Kolar told The Hindu.

The deficient rainfall has also lead to crop loss in Maharashtra. Buyers are now moving to West Bengal, Odisha, and even export from Bangladesh to meet the demand. The production would be only 30% of the usual.

As per Mint, in May, tomato rates crashed to ₹3-5 per KG and that many farmers were forced to throw away their produce by driving tractors through the crop. This is also one of the reasons for the farmer's lack of interest in the cultivation of tomatoes.

A tomato trader has told The Economic Times that Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are suffering from shortage of tomatoes and that they are now relying on Bengaluru for supply.

Usually during the period between June and July rains are expected to hit and vegetable prices generally see a downward direction. However, the scenes are quite different this year. The price of a kg of beans is in the range of ₹120- ₹140, prices of some varieties of carrots are inching the ₹100 mark, and capsicum prices have crossed ₹80 per kg. In addition to vegetables, egg prices have surged in the range of ₹7- ₹8 per egg.

With rise in vegetable prices, hotels are also expected to increase the rates. The Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels’ Association has told The Hindu that they are adopting a wait and watch approach but price hike on the menu is inevitable.