Tomato prices crash in Pattikonda market — Farmers dump produce on roads in protest

Pathikonda (Kurnool district): Tomato farmers in Pattikonda, Kurnool district, are facing severe distress as prices have crashed to an all-time low of just Rs.1 per kilogram. With no remunerative price for their produce, frustrated farmers staged a protest on the Mantralayam–Bengaluru National Highway, dumping heaps of tomatoes on the road to express their anguish. They demanded that the government announce a minimum support price (MSP) to safeguard their livelihoods.

Pattikonda Agricultural Market Yard, the second-largest tomato market in the state after Madanapalle, receives over 800 tonnes of tomatoes daily. Farmers lamented that despite bringing their produce from the fields to the market, the prices offered by traders are abysmally low—just Rs60 for a basket weighing around 60 kilograms. They accused officials of merely conducting superficial inspections without taking any concrete measures to stabilize the market, leaving them at the mercy of middlemen.

According to farmers, the cost of harvesting and transportation far exceeds the income they receive from sales. They say the situation has become unbearable, with traders exploiting the lack of government intervention. “We are incurring losses even before our produce reaches the market,” a protesting farmer said, adding that the government must step in immediately to fix a fair price and protect the farming community.

Traders, however, attributed the price drop to a surge in local supply and poor-quality tomatoes caused by heavy rains during the kharif season. They claimed that the inferior quality produce is unsellable in higher-end markets, leading to reduced demand. Traders also urged farmers to bring only high-quality tomatoes to the market to fetch better prices, but the farmers insist that without government intervention, their survival remains uncertain.