Bhubaneswar: The sudden 100% rise in prices of tomato across Odisha has pushed the vegetable out of the reach of common man.
As per reports, tomato was selling at Rs 40 to 50 per kg in almost all major cities in the state till Monday. On Tuesday, its cost has gone up to Rs 80-100, registering a sudden rise of 100%.
The red vegetable was sold at Rs 90-100 per kg in Cuttack on the day while its price zoomed to Rs 100-120 per kg in Berhampur and Balasore.
In Bhubaneswar, tomato price went up to Rs 80 per kg in the Unit I Market which is the major vegetable market of the city, while it touched Rs 100 in other markets.
The wholesale vegetable traders blamed the short supply of tomato from the markets of outside states for sudden rise in its prices.
“Due to deficient rainfall in tomato producing regions, the production came down. As a result, the supply to Odisha market was affected. While import from other states has almost stopped, only Karnataka is supplying the tomato to our state. As a result, the supply has drastically come down compared to the demand leading to price rise,” said Debendra Sahu, secretary, Chhatra Bazaar Traders’ Association in Cuttack.
Stating that the present cost of tomato would continue for at least 15 more days, Sahu said its price would relax only after arrival of next harvest of the vegetable.
