In the midst of monsoon, the prices of tomatoes and other vegetables hike due to various reasons.
“The produce of local farmers has been knocked down due to the recent rains caused by the Biparjoy cyclonic activity, preventing it from reaching the local markets”, says a vegetable wholesaler named Om Prakash Jain, in Muhana Mandi, Jaipur to the PTI.
Tomatoes and other vegetables rates have crucially increased in several parts of India due to different factors, including heavy rainfall caused by the cyclonic storms ‘Biparjoy’, as per the wholesalers.
‘The prices of tomatoes have been increased four to five times and the rates of all other vegetables have been raised by one to two times’, they said.
200% rise in the price of vegetables in Karnataka, an absolute essential across the households.
In the tomato growing districts like Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Chitradurga and Bengaluru rural, this sudden rise has been attributed to severance in supplies.
Last Monday, the country saw a Tomato crate (15kg box) being sold for Rs1,080 -1,100 at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard in Kolar, one of the largest tomato trading hubs, whereas the traders picked up the crates for a much higher price at Bengaluru district.
“The trajectory of tomato prices is really shocking. What was available for as low as ₹15 per kg in the retail market two months ago is now sold for more than Rs100 per kg”, a vegetable trader at Bengaluru central business district said.
He also said that, “the users at the receiving end are forced to shell out more, while it is a bumper for the tomato growers”.
As per Kumarswamy, the horticulture department deputy director, ‘Kolar district which grows tomatoes on 20,000 hectares and produces more than 10 lakh tonnes of the vegetable in a year has seen a break in the production, leading to hike in the prices’.
Anji Reddy, a tomato farmer from Kolar says, “The sowing of tomatoes this year is lower than the previous years, for various reasons. Many farmers in Kolar shifted to bean crop this year, as the price of beans skyrocketed last year. Due to deficient, the monsoons crops have dried up and wilted. The tomato crop in the district is only 30% of the usual produce”.
What added to this is the crop loss in Maharashtra, prompting the buyers from West Bengal and Odisha to export crops from Bangladesh to indicate in the State’s market. Due to all these reasons, the price of tomato is likely to cost ₹100 or more per kg.
The President of Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels’ Association (BBHA) P.C. Rao says, “Increase in the power tariff has led to a hike in the prices of all the milk products, including rice”.
The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has reportedly sought a hike of ₹5/liter for milk and the decision is awaited from the state government.
“We will look to increase the prices of milk in the hotels, after the State government decides on the milk price.” says KMF.The BBHA mentioned that a price hike on the menu was unavoidable and it would be implemented very soon, if the prices do not reduce even after adopting the wait-and-watch approach.
“The reduction in the vegetable prices is still a question mark.The association is looking for the new harvest season to fix the demand-supply imbalance’, says BS Sridhar, the member of Kalasipalya Wholesale Vegetable Traders’ Association.
