When it comes to food, especially Indian food, tomatoes are an important ingredient and a staple food item not in all the dishes but in most of the food items. Tomatoes can be eaten raw (salads, street food, juices, etc.) and cooked (soups, curries, etc.). Tomatoes and onions are so essential in food where such a spike in tomato prices may affect every Indian household.
In May the cost of 1 kg of tomatoes was around Rs. 10 to 15 and today it is sold at a retail price nearly Rs. 110 to 140 throughout the country and even in some parts it is sold for Rs. 160 which is shocking.
Indian farmers grow two crops of tomato-
The Rabi crop
The Kharif crop
The Rabi crop which is grown in Maharashtra, parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh reaches the market between the months of March and August.
The Kharif crop which is grown in Uttar Pradesh and Nashik reaches the country during the rest of the year.
Why did tomatoes become expensive?
Usually, tomato prices go up in July to August but this year it is soaring due to adverse weather and spiking more than the fuel price in India.
It is believed that the Rabi crops bring in good profits to the farmers but this year due to extreme weather and rains it went upside down. The saplings that were planted in the months of January and March 2023, suffered heavily and didn’t produce the required yield due to the heat in the month of March and April and also due to the leaf curl virus and the cucumber virus which severely affected the plants and reduced the quality of the crops.
Traders also say that heavy rainfall in the production areas led to waterlogging and that ultimately led to damage of tomatoes and other vegetables.
Spike in the prices
In Varanasi, retail price of tomato ranges from Rs 107/kg, in Bengaluru it is Rs 110/kg, in Chennai it is Rs 120/kg, in Hyderabad it is Rs 100/kg, in Mumbai it is Rs 135/kg, in Delhi it is Rs 100/kg and in Kolkata the retail price of tomato ranges from Rs 120-150 per kg. The average retail price of 1kg of tomato in the country is Rs 98.54 and people are very cautious in buying the vegetable at a huge amount.
Dip in supply
The dip in the supply of tomatoes has led to various changes in the menu of the food stores in the country. Social media is also in abuzz due to the absence of tomatoes in the top-selling food products. One such example is the ‘Absence of tomatoes in McDonald’s products’ in India.
McDonald’s have stopped the usage of tomatoes in their burgers and wraps in many of their outlets in North and East parts of India for the time being until the prices go down and also due to the availability of poor-quality tomatoes.
Will tomato prices come down?
Due to the dip in the supply and various changes in the weather conditions between the months of March and July, the tomato prices in the country have risen dramatically such that it affects the monthly budget of every Indian household. Nearly 56 to 58 percent of the total country's production of tomatoes come from the southern states.
It is only the Rabi crop that can help us in this situation. The Rabi tomatoes planted in June will come to the market in mid-August and it is only at that time there are chances for the tomato prices to come down.
Every year during the months of monsoon the vegetable prices go up and this year also it is the same but with a drastic rise in the tomato prices alone. Hence, the chances of tomato prices to go down this month July 2023 is less and we could find the prices go down from next month to the middle onwards.
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