2024-08-25 06:37:31
New Delhi: The price of tomatoes has fallen in the wholesale market. About 20-25 days ago, its wholesale price was around 900 to 1000 rupees per crate (25 kg). Now it has fallen to 250 to 400 rupees per crate. In such a situation, the price of tomatoes has fallen by 60 to 70 percent in this time. The main reason for the fall is the arrival of new tomato crop in the market. Due to the arrival of new crop, the inflow of tomatoes has increased, due to which its price has fallen. Farmers are the worst hit by this fall. Farmers are finding it difficult to even recover the cost of tomatoes.
There is a possibility of a rise in tomato prices due to heavy rains in Himachal, this is the reason
Increasing arrivals reduced the price
Currently, new tomato crops are arriving in the wholesale markets from several states. This crop is coming from states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal, Maharashtra, etc. With the arrival of the new crop, the supply of tomatoes in the market has increased considerably. The sale of tomatoes is not happening at the same speed at which the supply has increased. As such, the prices of tomatoes have fallen. The effect of this fall in the wholesale market is visible in the local market as well. Tomatoes that were sold for Rs. 100 a kg about a month ago are now being sold for Rs. 30 to 50 a kg. It is believed that with the increase in the supply of tomatoes from other states, its price may fall further.Double whammy on farmers
Farmers are facing a double whammy due to the fall in tomato prices. Earlier, a lot of tomato crop was damaged due to rain. Now they are not getting the right price for the new crop. According to farmers, wholesale traders have a lot of stock of tomatoes, due to which they are not buying it anymore. Due to lack of purchase, farmers are forced to sell it at a low price. Middlemen are also taking a lot of advantage of this. According to experts, there is no possibility of improvement in prices till March-April next year.
It is getting difficult to recover the cost
Due to the fall in the price of tomatoes, farmers are finding it difficult to recover their cost. A farmer said that he sold tomatoes at the rate of 30 to 35 rupees per kg a month ago, but now it has come down to 18 to 20 rupees per kg. At the same time, it costs 20 to 22 rupees to produce one kg of tomatoes. In such a situation, now even this cost cannot be recovered by selling tomatoes.
tomatoes thrown on the road
Due to not getting the right price, farmers are forced to throw tomatoes on the road. Recently, farmers of Tamil Nadu expressed their anger by throwing tomatoes on the road. At the same time, there are many farmers who have left their crops to rot in the fields without harvesting them. Experts say that if farmers get proper facilities from the government to keep the crop in cold storage, then they can get a good price from it.