Tomato Prices to Cross Rs 200 per kilo in Delhi-NCR Soon: Report

There is a highly anticipated surge in the retail price of tomatoes, and it is expected to go beyond Rs 200 per kilo, reaching an all-time high, said a report by The Times of India. 

The vegetable wholesalers in Delhi have expressed concerns about the rising wholesale prices of tomatoes. According to the information received from them, a crate of tomatoes weighing 25 kilos was sold at auction for Rs 4,100 in Uttarakhand on Monday. 

Unfortunately, this is not the final price that consumers in Delhi will have to pay. After adding up the various additional costs such as the mandi authorities' commission, transportation expenses to Delhi, and the wholesalers' expected profit margins, the wholesale price of a tomato crate in Delhi's mandis is expected to surpass Rs 5,000.

As per the report, a vegetable wholesale merchant at Keshopur Mandi, named Sardar Tony Singh, revealed that he recently had to purchase a crate of tomatoes from Uttarakhand's Dehradun district at a staggering price of Rs 4,100.  

"The prices this year have broken all previous records. Tomato in this season is generally auctioned for Rs 1,200-1,400 for 25 kilos. I have not seen such high prices in my entire life," the TOI report quoted Singh as saying.

The surge in tomato prices, which began in June due to reduced production and crop losses caused by heavy rains in certain states, has been posing many challenges for consumers as well as traders.

 As a result of the price hike, tomatoes are currently selling for Rs 150-180 per kilo in the retail market, making them an expensive essential commodity for Indian households.

To provide consumers with some relief from the impact of rising prices, the central government has taken measures to subsidise tomatoes. They have subsidised tomatoes and set up approximately 500 centres where it has been made available at a subsidised rate of Rs 90 per kilo. 

Later on, the price was further reduced to Rs 80 per kilo in an effort to make tomatoes more affordable during this period of rising prices.

The ongoing tomato shortage has caused a huge surge in prices, mainly due to reduced production and consistent consumer demand. In Azadpur Mandi, the daily arrival of tomatoes dropped from approximately 500 tonnes to a range of 350-400 tonnes in July. 

This drop in supply became noticeable on Monday, as the mandi received only 137 tonnes of tomatoes from the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, and Maharashtra combined.

Traders in the market predict that the prices are likely to remain high throughout the month. However, there is some hope that the situation may start to improve in the first week of September when more tomato supply is expected to arrive from Maharashtra.

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