Gurgaon: Tomato prices soar to Rs 80/kg, vendors blame supply shortage

Vendors fear that tomato prices will trend high for at least another couple of months

With rains hitting the supply of tomatoes to city markets, prices have gone up to Rs80 per kg. Shopkeepers and vendors claimed that there are now few takers for the vegetable. Shopkeepers in the city blamed supply shortage and the weather affecting perishable items for the price rise.

Tomato prices have shot up to Rs 80 from Rs 30 per kg in Gurgaon. (Rahul Grover/HT)

“Until last week, the retail price of tomatoes was Rs35 per kg. As soon as pre-monsoon showers hit the city, the prices went up to Rs60 per kg and finally reached Rs80 per kg by Sunday. Due to a spike in prices, people are not buying more than half kg at a time now,” said Chain Singh, a vendor at Nirvana Country vegetable market.

“On Saturday, tomatoes cost Rs70 per kg and on Sunday Rs85 per kg, the shopkeeper said prices will go up to Rs100 per kg,” said Anveshika Singh of Nirvana Country, Sector 50. Other upscale localities such as DLF, South City and Malibu Towne also reported high prices.

Vegetable vendors estimate that tomatoes will continue to cost more for at least two months. Prices of other vegetables are also going up by Rs10 to Rs20 a kg, they said.

On an average, Gurgaon gets 500 to 600 quintals of tomatoes daily, but on Sunday, the city’s wholesale market received 200 quintals of tomatoes, immediately increasing retail prices by Rs10 a kg in a day.

According to wholesalers of Khandsa market, prices have increased due to a major reduction in supply from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Ladwa in Haryana, and places in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and western India. They added that the situation will remain the same till fresh stocks arrive by the last week of August. The cultivation period in Rajasthan, Mewat, Farrukhnagar and other nearby areas has ended, they said.

Read I A month ago, tomatoes were being thrown away in Gurgaon

“The shortfall and the transport costs are major causes of the price rise,” said Pankaj Kumar, a shopkeeper in Sector 30 market.

“Tomato prices always increase during monsoon. The stock perishes easily during this season and we cannot store it for more than four days,” said Ram Kumar, a wholesaler.

Haryana agriculture minister, OP Dhankar, said while the high prices are an inconvenience to consumers, “One should also realise that farmers had a very difficult season this year.”

“People must also keep in mind that the high prices will help the farmers in some ways,” he added.