New Delhi: India’s tomato story isn’t over yet. The prices of tomatoes which have skyrocketed by more than 300 per cent due to extreme weather conditions are likely to touch Rs 300 per kg in the coming weeks, according to agriculture experts. The country is witnessing rainfall in several parts, leading the kitchen staple to get damaged or washed away, or lack of adequate showers in others hits production and transportation.
As per Money Control, National Commodities Management Services Limited (NCML) Chief Executive Officer, Sanjay Gupta said that the problem of price rise will go on for some time. He even mentioned that amid rains, no new plantation can be done. “Prices will continue to rise in weeks to come. It will be a minimum of 2 months before we see prices stabilise,” he added.
The prices have soared from Rs 40 per kg in June to an average of Rs 100 per kg in the first week of July. Amid the heavy rainfall, which impacted the supply from different regions of the country, the prices increased on average to Rs 200 kg.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana account for 91 per cent of the total production of tomatoes of the country, as per the reports of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The current supply of tomatoes is only being done from southern and some northeastern areas. The weather conditions are not only the reason for the low supply. Tomato is a short-duration crop, which is very sensitive to heat and extremely susceptible to viruses. Parts of the crop were destroyed due to an early heat wave that hit large parts of India between February and March. Two different viruses also damaged the crops in Karnataka and Maharashtra, News18 reported.
Another reason for low production is farmers losing hope of getting fair prices for their grown crops.
