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Late boost for Haryana tomato growers as prices surge amid shortfall
Wholesale prices foe tomato soar to ₹50 per kg, up from ₹2 per kg at the start of the season; retails price touches ₹80 per kg
Even as the harvest of tomato crops is on its last legs, the unprecedented increase in prices has given farmers, who sustained losses earlier in the season, something to smile about.
As per the ground reports, growers are getting ₹50 per kg as the traders from New Delhi are buying tomatoes directly from the farmers. Farmers attributed the price hike to the early arrival of monsoon, with heavy rainfall spoiling the crop and thus reducing the yield.
Since the harvesting of the crop is over, the farmers who have grown the lateral varieties are reaping a rich harvest.
In the past month, the tomato prices have witnessed a drastic change. On May 26, the farmers were selling a 25-kg crate for ₹50, being unable to even recover the harvesting costs. But with the prices now crossing ₹50 per kg, the scenario has changed completely.
Farmers said the retail price of tomato has reached to around ₹80 per kg in big cities over the last fortnight and is expected to remain in the same range for the foreseeable future.
Ajay Kumar, a farmer from Ladwa who has two acres under tomato crop says, “Over 90% of the produce has already been harvested and since May 1 we had sold our tomato at ₹2 to ₹5 per kg. But now, the prices have gone above ₹50 per kg and this will help us to cover the input cost.”
“The rise in prices at this stage is not going to help most of the farmers as over 90% of the crop has already been picked, as from three acres we could get only ₹50,000. A small section, 4-5%, however, who have grown lateral varieties will benefit from profits up to ₹2-4 lakh from one acre”, Darshan Lal. another farmer Kurukshetra, said.
Mahinder Singh, a tomato trader, said they have been receiving recalls from ahrtias from New Delhi as the traders were ready to buy tomatoes at up to ₹50 to ₹60 per kg. “They are even ready to send payment in advance,” he added.
Elaborating, he said, “Now we are approaching farmers from village to village and collecting tomatoes from them. We have to approach around 50 farmers everyday to collect 400 crates to New Delhi’s Azadpur mandi.”
Last year, tomato growers had pocketed handsome profits. The prices touched ₹750 to ₹800 per crate at the end of the season. The same resulted in more farmers growing tomatoes, leading to an increased area being brought under cultivation this year.
As per the state horticulture department’s figures, the area under tomato cultivation increased to around 30,000 hectares against 22,000 hectares last year.
In Haryana, tomato is largely grown in the northern districts of Kurukshetra, Karnal, Yamunanagar and Ambala districts and the sowing of tomato begins in January to March and it takes three months and picking continues for 45 days and picking begins from April.
