The prices of tomatoes continue to soar in India amid heavy rains. The retail price of tomatoes soared to Rs 150-160 per kg across major cities in India. While the kitchen staple sold for Rs 160 per kg in Mumbai, vendors in Kolkata and Delhi sold them for Rs 148 and Rs 120 per kg, respectively.
Local vendors in Delhi charged between Rs 120 and Rs. 140 per kg for tomatoes depending on the quality and locality.
“It is very difficult for a common man. We have stopped consuming tomatoes as it is being sold at Rs 129 per kg. The government should think about it,” news agency ANI quoted a customer as saying.
Delhi: The prices of vegetables increased in the national capital. Tomato prices soar to Rs 129 per kg in Delhi’s Safal store.It is very difficult for the common man, we have stopped eating tomatoes. Tomatoes are being sold at Rs 129 per kg. The government should think about… pic.twitter.com/KShHx9qsEX
— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2023
Meanwhile, in Chennai, tomatoes were priced at 117 per kg. The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday started distributing the kitchen staple at Rs 60 per kilo at 82 fair-pricing stores in Chennai after retail tomato prices soared to Rs 155 per kg across main cities in the country.
Tamil Nadu Government starts the sale of tomatoes at a subsidised rate of Rs 60 per kg at ration shops in Chennai, as price of the vegetable soars across the country.Visuals from a shop at Pondy Bazaar, T Nagar in Chennai.
A customer, Baby says, “From today, tomato is being… pic.twitter.com/k7vRgnZKlp
— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2023
Apart from tomato Green chillies are also burning the pocket at Rs 200-300 per kilo over the usual Rs 100.
“In March- -April, farmers had been forced to dump their produce in the streets because tomato sold so cheaply. They did not even recover costs. After that, we had untimely rain and hailstorms so standing crops were destroyed. In Maharashtra, 56,000 hectares of land is under tomato cultivation which normally yields 10-11 lakh metric tonnes of fruit. But this year there is a shortfall. It will take up to three months for production and prices to normalise,” a report in Times of India quoted State agriculture commissioner Sunil Chavan as saying.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Rohit Kumar Singh has announced a Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) Hackathon to seek innovative ideas at various stages of the tomato value chain to ensure that tomatoes are available to customers at reasonable costs.
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