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Tomatoes at 100
Hold your breath, the price of a kg of tomatoes soars up to Rs 100 in the AP’s retail market. Tomato earns notoriety for price fluctuations and market vagaries, defying the logic of trade experts.
Consumers rue overshooting prices
Vijayawada/Tirupati: Hold your breath, the price of a kg of tomatoes soars up to Rs 100 in the AP’s retail market. Tomato earns notoriety for price fluctuations and market vagaries, defying the logic of trade experts.
In April, its price hovered between Rs 2 and 10. When the produce was sold at Rs 2, the growers were distressed. Some dumped the stocks in the markets and eturned home without recovering even transport charges in Chittoor district. The tomato market is so volatile that growers in Chittoor and neighbouring Rayalaseema districts resorted to suicides.
When the price shot up to Rs 100, it is now the turn of consumers to feel the heat. Andhra recipes will not go without tomato and chutneys and rasam made of it will tickle the taste buds and make the meal complete.
Latha, housewife at Indira Priyadarsini Vegetable Market in Tirupati says it became economically unviable to prepare recipes with tomato which takes a major slice of household budget. “I am used to purchase tomatoes in bulk quantities to avoid visiting markets quite often.
This time I am forced to go for a smaller quantity,” she told The Hans India. Similar price trends were observed in Rytu Bazar and the other retail markets in Vijayawada. Tomato is transported from Chittoor, Anantapur and the other Rayalaseema districts as it is not raised in and around Vijayawada city.
It is sold at Rs 70-75 in the wholesale market and Rs 80 or more in the retail market. Pushcart vendors made it a field day selling the commodity much beyond Rs 80 depending on the area. The price is constantly on the rise in the last 40 days across the state.
The growers are however on cloud nine, forgetting the raw deal they received in the past. Sharp decline in yield resulted in a huge demand-supply gap. The market is receiving hardly 200 tons a day now hitting exports to the other markets within and outside the state.
A trader said the market yard received only 184 tons on July 8 over 700-900 tons during the hay days.
According to Madanapalle Market Committee Chairman Ratakonda Gurrappa Naidu, farmers cultivate tomatoes in about 18000 acres in the district. But the unconfirmed reports say the crop area crossed 25000 acres.
Farmers cultivate it in different spells. During the second spell in April the Western parts of the district experienced high temperatures by 2-3 degree Celsius this year.
More the temperature means a sharp decline in yield, Gurrappa Naidu said. Normally tomato can withstand temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius only. The excessive heat caused heavy loss to the crop during the flowery season.
By: Md Ameen/ V Pradeep Kumar
