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Tomato prices drop to ₹30/kg from ₹160 on August 1 in Pune retail market
Almost a month later, the rates of regularly used kitchen staples in the retail market have come down to ₹30 per kg
Pune
At the start of this month, Punekars were upset due to the increased prices of the tomatoes as they had reached ₹160 per kg in Pune retail market. Almost a month later, the rates of regularly used kitchen staples in the retail market have come down to ₹30 per kg.
In the wholesale market, the prices of tomatoes have seen a sharp fall as supply has increased over the days.
On Tuesday, per quintal rates at the Marketyard Market in Pune Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) were around ₹800 to ₹1,200 per quintal.
During the first week of August, wholesale prices of tomatoes in the market at Narayangaon, known to grow the produce on a large scale, were at ₹115 per kg.
“We had stopped buying tomatoes for a few days in July and August as the rates went up to ₹140 to ₹160. Instead, we preferred to buy leafy vegetables and other salad items like cucumber and carrot in salads,” said Archana Jadhav a housewife.
Like many other homemakers, she was relieved as rates came down.
There were farmers like Ishwar Gayakar from Junnar tehsil of Maharashtra claiming to have earned more than ₹2.8 crore by selling tomatoes. However, most tomato producers said due to unseasonal rains, the crop was damaged, and they could not take benefit of the situation.
Eventually, as new crops came into the market, it cooled down prices. At the Mahatma Phule Mandai vegetable market in old Peth areas, the tomato rates are between ₹30 to ₹40 as per the size and quality of the tomatoes.
“At the start of the month, we were selling tomatoes above ₹120 per kg and the highest we sold at ₹180 per kg here in the Mandai market. Now the same tomato rates have gone down to ₹30 per kg in the market,” said Shantaram Kale a vegetable seller in the Mandai market.
Talking about this hike and drop in tomato prices in the Marketyard market, Ritesh Poman, a tomatoes trader from Marketyard said, “The rates of tomatoes are now stabilised in the Marketyard compared to the starting of the month, which were gone above ₹2000 to ₹2500 per quintal. As of Tuesday, the rates are now on an average around ₹800 to ₹1200 per quintal.”
