Tomato prices hit Rs 80 high in retail,

Here is why your shopping bill may well rise further

Tomato prices have soared to Rs 40-50 per kg in wholesale markets and Rs 70-80 per kg in retail markets in almost all parts of the country,

Tomato prices have soared to Rs 40-50 per kg in wholesale markets and Rs 70-80 per kg in retail markets in almost all parts of the country, including Karnataka. 

Traders and cultivators attribute the price rise to short supply and after effects of the recent farmer strike when the fruit continued to remain on the crop, affecting its productivity. Top officials of the Vegetable Growers Association of India (VGAI) say that prices could shoot up further if monsoon plays truant. According to the Sources, arrivals have reduced by almost  80% in the market resulting in a price hike.

Production has been affected and consequently, the arrivals have taken a hit,  In June last year, tomato prices had crossed the Rs 60-per-kg mark in retail markets in many parts of the state, as a severe drought had destroyed the rabi crop. This year, lesser cultivation has resulted in a spike in prices. In the Bangalore Agriculture Produce Market Committee ( APMC), farmers bring tomatoes from neighbouring Kolara, Chikballapura Districts  and arrivals are to the tune of 1,200 quintals per Day. However, untimely rains in May hit production in these areas, resulting in disease and affecting the crop. The Bangalore market gets its supplies from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and since plantation reduced in these areas, it affected production as well. Farmers say the cost of production has risen, making the crop unviable.

In KR Market, one of the biggest markets of Bangalore, tomato prices have escalated to Rs 60-80 per kg in retail. There is no definite cause for the increase, with middlemen at Vashi APMC blaming ambiguous causes – from the farmers’ strike in June as well as “inclement weather”. Bangalore receives its quota of tomato from areas in Karnataka as well as Kolara, Chikballapura Districts and   in Bangalore Rurals – are the tomato growing belts in the state – arrivals have reduced to barely 240 quintals with minimum prices ranging between Rs 2,400 to Rs 4,750 per quintal. Market officials say the arrivals have reduced to a great extent.

North karnataka, another large tomato growing belt in Karnataka, there are no tomato arrivals as yet. Market officials say plantation is in progress and the season should commence after a month or so. As against the 34,500 hectares of plantation used to cultivate tomato during summer, this year the state has seen 31,012 hectares of farmland used for the crop. The dip in area is significant in the tomato-growing districts of Karnataka. 

-News Source