Farmers destroy tomato crop as prices drop from ₹200 per kg to ₹2 in one month

According to farmers, the retail price of tomatoes in Maharashtra was around ₹160 per kg and ₹200 per kg in north Indian states during July and the first week of August, before crashing to ₹2 per kg in wholesale markets following a glut

Pune: Sharp fall in prices — from ₹200 per kg in August to ₹2 in September — has forced tomato farmers from Marathwada and north Maharashtra to destroy their crop as it fails to even recover transportation cost.

Farmers expressed their anger over fall in price of tomatoes by dumping the produce at Nashik’s Pimpalgaon market on Saturday. (HT PHOTO)

In Gangapur village of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, farmers dumped tomatoes on road while some put their produce on fire.

According to farmers, the retail price of tomatoes in Maharashtra was around ₹160 per kg and ₹200 per kg in north Indian states during July and the first week of August, before crashing to ₹2 per kg in wholesale markets following a glut.

They said bumper crop of the kitchen staple had triggered the price crash.

Farmers bringing their produce in Jadhav Mandi area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar dumped the tomato crop on the road. In nearby Gangapur, two farmers set on fire freshly grown produce.

“Tomatoes, which used to fetch ₹150- ₹200 per kg, are currently selling at ₹2 per kg in retail markets. We dumped our produce on road as a protest against the government authorities for not taking steps to check the price of tomatoes. When the price of tomatoes had touched ₹180 per kg, many took to harvesting the crop resulting in bumper produce. Not only tomatoes, but the price of brinjal has also crashed,” said Santosh Ranjane, farmer and secretary of a farmers association from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Farmers expressed their anger over fall in price of tomatoes by dumping the produce at Nashik’s Pimpalgaon market on Saturday. They said a 20-kg crate of the crop fetching a market price of ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 was selling at ₹100 to ₹170.

“We have spent lakhs of rupees to grow the crop and the low selling price will not cover even basic expense.” said Pandurang Gajare, a tomato farmer from Nashik.