Tomato prices in Pune drop below ₹100/kg in wholesale market as new crop arrives

Local traders said that arrival of new crops from parts of Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts have led to the cooling down of prices and further dip in tomato prices is expected

Citizens can heave a sigh of relief as tomato prices finally dropped below the ₹100 per kg mark on Tuesday in the wholesale market of Narayangaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee. Local traders said that arrival of new crops from parts of Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar districts have led to the cooling down of prices and further dip in tomato prices is expected in the next few days, and by mid-August the rates are expected to reach normal level.

According to market experts, farmers who were not growing tomatoes also opted for the crop as they saw an opportunity to make money with access to irrigation. (HT PHOTO)

On Tuesday, the Narayangaon wholesale market in Junnar, Pune district, which is one of the major tomato markets in Maharashtra saw the arrival of 12,000 crates of tomatoes – each crate holds 20 kg. Tomatoes were being sold in the range of ₹30- ₹100 per kg (depending on the quality and size). This is a drastic drop from the prices in June-end wherein tomatoes were sold in ₹50- ₹130 per kg price range.

This will soon have cascaded effect in cooling down prices in local retail markets too, said traders.

In the local retail markets of Pune city, tomato was still trading at ₹160 to ₹ 200 per kg. “I am selling tomatoes at ₹160 per kg and we expect rates to come down further,” said Anil Sharma, a vegetable vendor from Satara Road area. Vibha Deshpande, a housewife, said, she purchased tomatoes at ₹ 200 per kg on Monday.

According to market experts, farmers who were not growing tomatoes also opted for the crop as they saw an opportunity to make money with access to irrigation. Many farmers from Nashik and Ahmednagar opted for growing tomatoes in their bid to cash in on the shortage and rising prices. By June end, tomato was selling well above ₹130 ₹per kg in wholesale and the rise continued till the second week of July.

The price rise was due to crop shortage as less tomatoes arrived in the wholesale markets. Since the farmers were getting low prices in March and April, they had destroyed their standing tomato crop and opted for other vegetables which could bring in desired income. Besides, the lower-than-expected crop arrival has been attributed to pest attacks and viruses which led to low yields.

Mauli Khandagale, Narayangaon market committee director said, “During the last few days, prices have improved mainly due to arrival of more tomato in the wholesale markets. The crop has come from Nashik, Ahmednagar and Solapur. Once the arrivals from Nashik increase, the prices will come down further in the retail market.”