New Delhi: Retail prices of tomatoes have touched Rs 140 per kg in some parts of South India as supplies are affected due to heavy rains. This information has been given in the official figures.
Tomato prices have remained high in most retail markets of the country since the end of September, but incessant rains have led to a sharp rise in prices in the southern states. The retail prices of tomatoes were trading in the range of Rs 30-83 per kg in the northern region on Monday, while in the western region it was Rs 30-85 per kg and in the eastern region Rs 39-80 per kg. This information has been given in the data maintained by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
The all-India average price of tomato has remained high at Rs 60 per kg for the past few weeks. The retail prices of tomatoes were trading at Rs 140 per kg in Mayabunder and Rs 127 per kg in Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Tomato is selling at Rs 125 per kg in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Rs 105 per kg in Palakkad and Wayanad, Rs 94 per kg in Thrissur, Rs 91 per kg in Kozhikode and Rs 83 per kg in Kottayam.
Its retail price in Karnataka was Rs 100 per kg in Mangalore and Tumakuru, Rs 75 per kg in Dharwad, Rs 74 per kg in Mysore, Rs 67 per kg in Shivamogga, Rs 64 per kg in Davanagere, and Rs 57 per kg in Bengaluru. Was being In Tamil Nadu too, the tomato was priced at Rs 102 per kg in Ramanathapuram, Rs 92 per kg in Tirunelveli, Rs 87 per kg in Cuddalore, Rs 83 per kg in Chennai, and Rs 75 per kg in Dharmapuri.
In Andhra Pradesh, tomatoes were sold at Rs 77 per kg in Visakhapatnam and Rs 72 per kg in Tirupati, while in Telangana, tomatoes were sold at Rs 85 per kg in Warangal. On Monday, the retail price of tomatoes in Puducherry was Rs 85 per kg. In metros, tomatoes sold at Rs 55 per kg in Mumbai, Rs 56 per kg in Delhi, Rs 78 in Kolkata, and Rs 83 in Chennai on Monday.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry had on November 26 said that tomato prices are likely to soften from December onwards due to the fresh arrival of the crop from the northern states. Unseasonal rains in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh have pushed up retail tomato prices since the end of September.
The tomato crop was damaged due to rain and there was a delay in arrivals from these states. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka received heavy rains following delayed arrivals from the states of North India, disrupting supplies and causing crop damage.
It added that tomato prices are highly volatile and any disruption in the supply chain or heavy rains leads to a rise in prices. According to the Agriculture Ministry, the Kharif (summer) production of tomatoes in the current year is 69.52 lakh tonnes, as against 70.12 lakh tonnes last year.
