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Spurt in supply causes tomato prices to dip in Chandigarh
While tomato prices have dropped, those of lemon, cabbage and peas have risen
Tomato growers not finding sufficient buyers in Haryana has led to a sudden spurt in supply in tricity, causing prices of the vegetable to drop to ₹10 to 15, half from last month’s rate.
In the vegetable market at Sector 49, tomato was being sold for ₹10-15 per kilo, depending on the quality. “Tomato prices were never less than ₹15 in the past four weeks,” said Anchal Sharma, a resident of Sector 32.
Tomato growers in Haryana say they are forced to dispose of the crop at negligible prices in absence of adequate buyers in the local markets, leaving them worried about meeting production costs.
“In the absence of enough local markets, we are taking our produce to Delhi and other states, and selling it at ₹3 to ₹4 per kg to wholesalers, besides transportation charges of ₹1.5 per kg,” said Nirmal Singh, a tomato grower in Haryana’s Karnal.
Prices of other veggies rise
On the other hand, prices of onion, potato, lemon, cabbage and peas have gone up by ₹5 to ₹10. Onion is being sold for ₹20 per kg against the rate of ₹15 in April.
Traders says the vegetable’s supply had slowed down for unknown reasons.
While vegetable retailers said tomato prices had come down as the supply had increased., there is no difference in supply or demand of potatoes, whose cost has also gone up.
“Prices depends upon the supply. If supply is high, prices will come down as is the case with tomato,” said Goldi Singh, a vegetable retailer, adding that compared to last month, prices of most vegetables had slightly gone up.
Besides Haryana, tomatoes are supplied from Himachal Pradesh, while onion is supplied from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, among other states.
Amar Pal, a wholesaler of vegetables in Sector 26, said, “Tomato’s supply has suddenly shot up, while that of other vegetables has gone down. The price of tomato in the wholesale market is currently ranging between ₹4 and ₹7 per kilogram.”
