Price of tomatoes skyrocket in Bengaluru on online grocery platforms; Here's why: Report
Tomato prices have surged above ₹100 on online platforms due to persistent rains and low yields in Bengaluru’s tomato-growing regions.
Tomato prices, which had been ranging from ₹79 to ₹90, have now crossed the ₹100 mark on online grocery platforms. With ongoing heavy rains in the tomato-producing areas around Bengaluru, there are concerns that prices might rise even further, according to a Times Now report.
Last year, tomato prices soared to an eye-watering ₹200 per kilogram in July, only to crash to ₹5 per kilogram two months later. Currently, online grocery stores are listing tomatoes between ₹100 and ₹104 per kilogram, and retail prices are expected to follow suit, the report noted.
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Experts point to several factors behind the current price surge, including relentless rainfall, plant diseases, and a significant drop in yields. Kolar, a major tomato cultivation hub in Karnataka covering about 15,000 acres, supplies tomatoes not just to local markets but also to northern states and neighbouring countries like Bangladesh.
Around 90 percent of the tomatoes produced in Kolar are exported, sources from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard told the publication. However, due to severe weather conditions damaging early crops in northern states, the demand for Kolar tomatoes has surged.
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An official from the Kolar APMC yard revealed that this year's tomato harvest is drastically low, with yields at just 25 percent of the normal output. Typically, around 4,000 boxes of tomatoes are harvested per acre, but this year’s yield has dwindled to just 1,000 boxes per acre, he said.
He also pointed out that many farmers have ceased tomato production due to financial losses from previous years, particularly the extreme heat of last year. The combination of last year’s high temperatures and this year’s excessive rainfall has severely affected early tomato crops, another official from the Horticulture Department said.