Tomato, the ubiquitous fruit that garnishes the salad bowl and most Indian food is selling costlier than mangoes, apples, and even chicken broilers across India.
In Uttarakhand, tomato prices have surged to Rs. 250 per kg in Gangotri Dham and Rs 180 to 200 per kg in Uttarkashi.
In Chandigarh, it has touched Rs 160 per kg, Delhi is no different, and south Indian cities are also bleeding money to buy the red fruit.
In Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru tomatoes are currently being sold for Rs 110 to Rs 140 per kg.
In an effort to provide some relief to consumers in the midst of the price spiral, the Tamil Nadu government started selling tomatoes at a discounted rate of Rs 60 per kg at the ration shops in the state capital Chennai. Similar to many other states, Karnataka has recently witnessed skyrocketing tomato prices.
According to the vegetable vendors in Uttarkashi, tomatoes have suddenly gone up in price and demand too is up. Prakash Chand, a vegetable vendor said that due to the increasing price of the tomatoes in Uttarkashi, consumers are suffering the worst consequences of this situation. Hence, there is a lack of willingness to buy tomatoes.
Many people blamed the ongoing heatwave and heavy rains in the important tomato-growing regions, which caused a disturbance in supply lines, that further caused the dramatic increase in the cost of tomatoes. Additionally, tomatoes have a relatively short shelf life, another factor that seems to be influencing tomato pricing.
The abrupt temperature rise in March and April is blamed for the high pricing because the pest assaults on tomatoes led to higher market rates.