Tomato prices: 700% jump in prices creates windfall for Indian farmers

An eight-fold surge in tomato prices is making some Indian farmers rich, although their windfall gains may be short-lived due to a likely increase in supplies in the coming weeks, bloomberg reported.

Retail prices of tomatoes were at 178 rupees a kilogram in Delhi on Sunday, a jump of more than 700% from Jan. 1, according to data compiled by the food ministry.

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Among other metros, tomatoes were selling at Rs 155 per kg in Mumbai, Rs 132 per kg in Chennai and Rs 143 per kg in Kolkata.

The price spike, caused by heavy rains disrupting supplies, has hit consumers hard, with many households temporarily forgoing tomatoes — an essential element of mainstay Indian dishes. But growers are elated.

Meanwhile, the government has started selling tomatoes at subsidized rates at many locations, deploying mobile vans. The Centre is selling tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 80 per kg in Delhi-NCR and some other cities through the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).