It’s Rs 250 per kg now: Why are tomato prices climbing up again?

Tomato prices are again making consumers see red as they reach Rs 200 per kilogramme and above at several places across India. After a brief relief, people in many states and Union Territories, including Delhi, are shelling out much more to buy this kitchen staple than on petrol and diesel.

The cost of tomatoes is flaring up after the Central government had intervened around mid-July to provide the vegetable to consumers in some major cities, including the Delhi-NCR region, at subsidised rates. In July, tomatoes were retailing for over Rs 200 rupees per kilogramme in many cities.

But, why have tomato prices shot up again? When can consumers get some relief? Let’s understand.

Tomato prices soar again

On Thursday (3 August), Delhi was selling tomatoes at Rs 213 per kg, according to data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The prices were at Rs 173 per kg on Monday (31 July) in the National Capital.

At Rs 257 per kg, tomato prices in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr were the highest across the country. It had reached Rs 263 per kilo on Wednesday.

The kitchen staple was available at over Rs 200 per kg in more than a dozen places across the country on Thursday.

In Maharashtra’s Mumbai, the humble vegetable was retailing for Rs 157 per kg.

The average tomato prices on 3 August were Rs 140.1 per kg, an increase from Rs 137.06 a day back.

According to wholesale traders, there can be a further surge in the coming days, with tomato prices reaching even Rs 300 per kilo, reported news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, amid the stinging tomato prices, Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit, who is also the administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, has called for reducing tomato consumption at Raj Bhavan. He also urged people to use alternatives of the kitchen staple.

“Stopping or reducing the consumption of an article is bound to have an effect on its price; reducing demand will automatically lower the price. I hope people will use alternatives in their household for the time being and help to curtail the surge in tomato prices,” NDTV cited a recent Raj Bhavan statement as saying.

“By forgoing tomato consumption in his own residence, the governor aims to underscore the importance of empathy, frugality, and responsible use of resources during these challenging times,” the statement added.

Why are tomato prices surging?

According to wholesale traders, the supply of tomatoes has been hit because of heavy rainfall in key crop-producing regions.

Sanjai Bhagat, a wholesaler at the Azadpur Mandi – Asia’s “largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market” – 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 due to which the price of tomato might reach nearly Rs 300 per kilogramme”.

According to Bhagat, the quality of tomatoes and other crops from Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra has reduced. In Delhi’s Azadpur mandi, tomatoes are retailing at Rs 150-200 per kg.

Heavy showers had inundated several parts of Himachal Pradesh last month. Torrential rains in Karnataka and Maharashtra towards the last half of July have also damaged crops, which could further drive up tomato prices, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.

According to KR Kumaraswamy, Karnataka’s deputy director of horticulture, heavy rainfall in major tomato-producing hubs has damaged 70 per cent of the crop sowed in June, which would have been ready by August, the newspaper report added.

“The tomato crisis is not due to any artificial scarcity but due to adverse weather. The rates are constantly increasing because of genuine scarcity,” Shubham Patil, an official of the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) told HT. 

Anil Malhotra, a member of Azadpur’s Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said there is low demand and supply for tomatoes in the market. “Vendors are facing difficulties like late exportation of vegetables, deterioration of quality. Moreover, customers have been refusing to buy vegetables like tomatoes, capsicum, cauliflower and cabbage,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. 

Kaushik, another APMC member, told the news agency that the prices of tomatoes have jumped to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, which can further affect retail rates.

ALSO READ: Why tomato prices are likely to hit Rs 300 per kg

When will the situation improve?

Azadpur Tomato Association president Ashok Kaushik said the situation can improve in the next ten days which can bring some respite from the skyrocketing prices, as per India Today. 

Some APMC members in Ahmedabad predict a fall in wholesale tomato prices in Gujarat in the next two weeks. Asif Darbar, one of the largest tomato traders at the Ahmedabad APMC told the Times of India (TOI) that “relief is in sight as crop arrivals from Nasik, Solar, and Pipalgaon in Maharashtra are expected to replenish the supply in Gujarat. As a result, the wholesale prices are expected to drop to around Rs 100 per kg in the wholesale market.”

However, analysts believe consumers will bear the brunt of high grocery inflation at least until September due to the disruption in supplies of key staples, reported HT. 

With inputs from agencies