To know the reason for the jump in tomato prices, it is necessary to understand the production of tomatoes. Two crops of tomato are grown in India. One in the Rabi season (sown in December to January) and the other in the Kharif season (sown in April-May). The tomato crop is ready in about three months and harvesting takes 45 days.
Rabi crop is mainly grown in Junnar Taluka of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh. In these areas, tomato crop planted on 5 lakh hectares of agricultural land is supplied from March to August.
Kharif crop is grown in Uttar Pradesh, Nashik in Maharashtra, and other parts of the country. Tomato crop planted in 8-9 lakh hectares of agricultural land is supplied to the markets across the country from August onwards.
Now we will know those 4 reasons, due to which the prices of tomatoes are skyrocketing…
- Heavy rains are the biggest reason for the current high prices of tomatoes. Tomato is a perishable vegetable. That’s why its continuous supply is necessary. For the past few days, southern states including Karnataka, and Telangana along with some hilly states have also received heavy rains. This has damaged the tomato crop and disrupted the supply.
Tomato trader at Sahibabad wholesale market said that the tomato plants on the ground were damaged during the recent rains. Only those plants that stand on the stars survived. That is, the supply was affected due to the damage to the crops, hence the prices have increased.
- The tomato crop sown in rabi season i.e. December-January was hit by the heat this time. In South India, due to this, the leaf curl virus in tomatoes has caused a lot of damage to its crops. Cucumber virus attacks were observed in Maharashtra due to the short winter and extreme heat in March-April. Due to this, the tomato plants dried up.
Sp Reddi, who runs a mandi in Karnataka, says that the tomato crop in the state was damaged due to the whitefly pest. Due to this, there was a decrease in the supply of tomatoes.
- In March-April this year, the farmers associated with tomato cultivation got a jolt. The average price of tomato in March in the wholesale market was Rs 5 to 10 per kg. Whereas in April it was around Rs 5 to 15 per kg. In May, farmers were forced to sell at between Rs 2.50 and Rs 5 per kg.
Sumit, a tomato grower from Phaltan taluka of Satara district, said many farmers had left their crops in the field due to the fall in prices. Due to this, fewer tomatoes came into the market.
- Farmers, who have been facing losses for the last two years, have reduced the sowing of tomatoes this time. Vegetable Traders Association general secretary Anil Malhotra said that there was a bumper crop of tomatoes in 2020 and 2021 and farmers had to dump their produce due to low prices.
Because of this, farmers in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand cut down on tomato production this year and grew flowers. This is the reason that compared to the last few years, this time the production of tomatoes has halved.
Commodity expert Ajay Kedia says farmers in Karnataka have given up tomatoes for beans. Anji Reddy, a tomato farmer in Kolar, Karnataka, said that many farmers in Kolar cultivated beans this year, as last year the beans gave a lot of profit. In such a situation, the tomato crop in the district could be only 30% of the normal.
When will the tomato prices come down?
For tomato prices to be affordable, it is necessary that the supply increases in comparison to the demand in the market. However, the supply is not expected to increase anytime soon.
Let us understand with an example. At present, an average of 24,000-25,000 crates of tomatoes (20 kg each) are arriving in Maharashtra’s Narayangaon wholesale market per day. Generally, 40,000 crates of tomatoes arrive on the market these days.
Tomatoes sown in the Kharif season will be supplied till July last and August. With the arrival of new consignments from states like Karnataka, the supply of tomatoes will increase. This will also reduce the cost.
Wholesale trader Ramdas Pavle said that the last crop cycle is over and a new cycle will begin. He said that it would take 20-25 days for the new crop to reach the market. After this, the prices are expected to come down.
What steps have been taken by the Central and State Governments?
Tomato prices may have gone up, but interestingly, data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which monitors and controls prices, shows that in 100 out of 540 cities, tomatoes are cheaper than Rs 30.
Apart from this, the central government will seek suggestions from the general public to prevent the sudden increase in the prices of vegetables. Means how suddenly tomatoes become Rs 100 per kg? Then it starts selling for 5-10 rupees a kg. The Grand Tomato Challenge is being launched in the next few days. In this, ideas will be sought to increase production, processing, and storage capacity.
On the other hand, the Minister of Food and Consumer Protection Department of Tamil Nadu said on Wednesday that for the poor and middle class, tomatoes will be sold at Farm Fresh Outlets i.e. FFO at low prices across the state.
One kg tomato will be available in FFO for Rs.68. He informed us that steps are also being taken to sell FFO tomatoes at Rs.60 per kg.
