Tomato prices have spiked in the National Capital Region, with the cost of 1kg of the kitchen staple doubling over the past week to hit a high of ₹80-100 on Tuesday, with wholesalers and traders blaming the sudden spike to rain hitting produce and transportation logistics.
According to Ashok Kaushik, president of Tomato Traders Association (TTA) at Azadpur Mandi, a majority of Delhi’s tomato supplies between March to June comes from Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. However, unseasonal spells of rain throughout May and the early onset of the monsoon led to the tomato crop failing in these states, hampering supplies.
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“Most of the current supply, therefore, is from Himachal Pradesh. Now, after rains in the last few days, the trucks carrying tomatoes from Himachal are also stranded along the way,” he said.
Sanjay Gambhir, a wholesaler at Gurugram’s Khandsa Mandi, said tomato prices have gone up multiple times. “Earlier we used to sell a crate (25kg) of tomatoes for ₹200, and now we are selling it for ₹1,200. The local crop has been damaged due to rain and we are selling tomatoes from Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh… The prices are likely to further increase this week,”, he said.
Anil Malhotra, a member of the Azadpur agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC), said, “Besides rain damaging the crop, the produce this year is also low. The farmers had been facing losses for the past two years as they were not getting good rates in markets, owing to which they have reduced the production this year.”
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These two factors — rain hitting produce and hampering transportation — have adversely affected tomato prices in the Capital, with prices of the vegetable jumping from ₹40-60 across different parts of NCR to ₹80-100 on Tuesday.
To be sure, tomato prices have seen a spike across the country, with tomato selling for ₹100-120 per kg in Bengaluru, ₹90-100 in Mysuru, ₹40- 50 in Kolkata, and ₹100 in Chennai.
Kaushik said that the reason why the prices have spiked is because tomatoes are an easily perishable item. “Since tomatoes are easily perishable and can’t be kept in storage, it is important to have a smooth supply, otherwise the stock gets spoiled,” he said.
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Traders in Delhi said that even wholesale rates have been affected, with prices rising to ₹50-70 per kg, depending on its quality. In comparison, the price of a crate of tomato last week was ₹500, which translates to ₹20 a kg. In May, the price for a crate of tomatoes was below ₹200.
“About eight to ten days ago, we were buying one crate for ₹500, but then it jumped to ₹1200 and kept rising,” said Malhotra
Anish Kumar, a vegetable seller at a Gurugram vegetable market, said he has no choice but to sell tomatoes at a high rate to make a profit. “We have been facing a lot of issues as customers keep bargaining, but how do we reduce the prices when we ourselves have to buy tomatoes at such high prices?” he said.
The consumers have ended up bearing the brunt of this spike in prices. “We are facing major issues as tomatoes are not available in any of the online delivery service platforms, and prices are very high in local markets,” said Preeti (who goes by her first name), a school teacher in Delhi.
Mukesh Anand, a cook at a hostel in Gurugram, said, “I have resorted to using tomato puree because I have a fixed monthly budget for the kitchen and I cannot exceed that.”